The Misadventures of Kal and Jacob
by informedterran
Summary: AU: In the wake of First Contact, two kids, a quarian and a human, struck an unusual, but quick friendship. A friendship of mischief and shenanigans, and the coming-of-age in a galaxy so vastly changed by the Terran's Great Gambit. Here is the story of Kal'Reegar and Jacob Taylor, and their misadventure through life and the galaxy. Set in the AU verse of the Terran Gambit.
1. 1: The Misadventure Begins

**Chapter 1: The Misadventure Begins!**

* * *

 **\/\/\/\/\/ A/N \/\/\/\/\/**

Hello everyone!

This is a new story idea I was working with on the side  
while writing up _The Terran Gambit_.

Set within the Mass Effect **_AU_** of the _Terran Gambit_ ,  
this side story follows the new found friendship and adventures of  
 **Kal'Reegar** and **Jacob Taylor**  
from their childhood and the wake of First Contact,  
to the fight against the Reapers.

I wrote this up as a way to clear my mind as I continued my main fic  
and also write up the first part of my next major project, _The Synthetic Storm_.

So I hope you all enjoy this (for now) lighthearted story  
of the misadventure of a Human and a Quarian,  
and all the mischief that comes with it!

If you would like to get a sense of the background,  
please check out my main fic, _The Terran Gambit.  
_ Chapter 8 if you like the exact place where I got the idea.

 **/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\**

* * *

 **FSS Homestead**

 **June 2, 2167**

The shuttle slowly entered the energy force field of the shuttle bay of the _Homestead_. Its mass effect field began to weaken, lowering the shuttle to the platform as the thrusters lessened and the artificial gravity of the ship took hold of the aging shuttle. The Quarian shuttle finally touched down, a Terran officer waited along with a Quarian officer outside to greet the next work crew being sent to retrieve supplies.

The doors opened, a work crew of ten waited inside, accompanied by a research team. The work crew was here to retrieve supplies the Terrans had agreed to give them as aid. The research team was there to overlook the transfer of vital scientific equipment; scarce and valuable to the Quarians, but overstocked and cheap to the Terrans, as long as the taxpayers didn't know. The passengers on board turned to the Quarian officer. She signaled to them it was safe to leave. They got off, taking their first steps onto an alien ship. The Terran officer stepped forward.

"Greetings. My name is Lieutenant Commander Goldston, Chief Engineer of this fine vessel."

The leader of the detail stepped forward. "I am Rael'Zorah Vas Rayya, the head researcher for my people. We request permission to come aboard."

"Permission granted. Welcome aboard the Federation Starship _Homestead_ , the finest ship in the Fourth Fleet! I believe Commander Sacco here will be briefing you on your assignment."

"Professor Zorah. If you please follow me, the humans have allocated the raw materials your lab needed…"

She directed towards the bay doors, discussing with him the details. Within the shuttle, a small head poked out, peering out at the shuttle bay.

" _Mission update. I have successfully stowed away and entered the alien ship. Beginning infiltration phase,"_ the young boy said to the omni-tool on his arm.

He quickly jumped out of the shuttle and onto the metal platform, almost tripping as he landed. He quickly looked around, in a fighting stance as he advanced, before he dove for cover behind a crate, poking his helmeted head out to coast the area.

Unaware he was still in plain view of almost everyone, Goldston looked at the kid, tilting his head in confusion. He turned to one of the Quarians, another professor.

"So what's with the kid?" He asked.

"Oh, that's Kal'Reegar, one of our young. He apparently stowed away on the shuttle," the Quarian replied. He chuckled a bit. "He thinks he's a spy. We asked him to stay on the shuttle, though."

Goldston laughed, amused by the alien kid's overactive imagination. "Ah, no worries. We have children ourselves on the ship. Most of the easily accessible areas are open for them anyway. Anything important is blocked off with automatic security. The rest we have monitors in place. Let the kid have some fun playing 'secret agent'."

"I don't want him to be a bother, though."

"He most likely won't. But just to be safe." He activated his watch. "Lieutenant Monroe!"

"Yes, Chief?" she replied over the comm.

"We have a little 'spy' on board." He stated. From the context of being able to see and hear what was going on in the bay, she knew what he really meant. "Could you please… help him on his mission?"

"Of course, sir. I'll keep an eye on the alien tike."

The Quarian turned to him. "It seems too much to divert one of your officers for one kid."

"Monroe is one of our AIs," Goldston pointed out. "It'd be of virtually no extra processing power for her to watch him."

The professor was intrigued, if a bit startled as well. "Your artificial intelligence programs have identifiable gender schisms? How fascinating. Could we possibly have a chat about them? Professor Zorah and Admiral Koris were most interested in your development of them."

"I've heard most Quarians are far from fond of AIs," said Goldson. "Are you comfortable with discussing our own?"

"Zorah has debriefed us with the situation. Not all of us are so paranoid. Leaning about yours may offer insight into our own."

"Then in that case, I'd be delighted! I hope you don't mind one watching the kid."

The professor grunted. "Better than the Geth, right?"

As they walked out of the bay to rejoin the others, Kal quickly ran for the door as it began to close. He made a jump and into the hallway, rolling into a wall. He quickly recovered and looked around, before running down the hallway.

* * *

"Grandpa!"

Getting off the connection tube from a hospital ship, Jacob ran out towards his grandfather, Captain Taylor. The Captain knelt and opened his arms, embracing his grandchild and lifting him up for a moment before placing him back down.

"Jacob! How good it is to see you. First, tell me why you're here."

He looked up at him. "I heard you made First Contact with actual aliens! So, I asked Dad if I could go visit and he let me board a hospital ship that was heading over."

Captain Taylor groaned. "That boy. Letting his own son run off to the other side of the galaxy alone. What in good Terra was he thinking?"

"He said you'd be okay with it…" He looked at him with puppy eyes.

Taylor sighed and looked down at his grandson. He couldn't refuse him.

"Well, you're already here, boy. So… you can stay."

"Thank you, Grandpa!"

"But I want you on your best behavior. There are important Quarians aboard this ship working with us. I want you to a model Terran, understood?"

Jacob saluted him. "Yes, sir!"

"Good, now then…" He looked down the hallway, noticing a class of children walking by. "Go join that class."

Jacob looked at him, surprised. "But I thought I was going to meet the aliens with you?"

"They are called 'Quarians', like we are humans. And you will get to meet one. But I still have to do important work–"

"Captain work?" he asked, having always been fascinated with what his grandfather did in the Navy.

He smiled. "Yes, important captain work to do. We'll meet later for dinner in my quarters, okay?"

"Okay! Thanks, Grandpa!"

The young boy quickly ran off down the hallway, joining the class that was touring the ship. Taylor looked on, smiling as his grandson ran off. He was happy to see his grandson. His entire career was spent exploring the stars and he had missed out on raising his son, Ronald. There was a bit of the same tragedy happening with his son and Jacob. He hoped his grandson would not be raised in the same manner.

Taylor looked down at the ground, noticing that Jacob had left his luggage on the ground.

"Damn it, that boy… well, I was heading back to my quarters to change anyway."

Maybe he could do better for Jacob.

* * *

 **Homestead Science Lab #7**

Kal continued stealthily down the hallway, hiding behind every corner as he continued deeper into the ship. The thin-carpeted floor muffled the boots of his suit. He looked around the hallway and at the architecture of the Terran ship. On the _Rayya_ , the hallways were old, cramped, metallic and rusting. Everything was always being fixed, the halls dark and cramped, full of cargo to make use of every space possible. Each room was makeshift in built, full to the brim with entire families and quarters.

Here he saw something that reminded him of images of Asari ships that returning Pilgrims would show him from their time in the galaxy. The humans had beautiful, spacious ships. The hallways were bright, wide and finished with something he never saw before in person, clean drywall and marble edges. The floors were solid and soft, unlike the metallic and creaky floors of his home. In rooms, momentarily left open by their sliding doors as people walked in and out, he saw large wide quarters housing a few crewmembers, when the same size would be divided to house a dozen families or a cargo of supplies.

"These aliens must truly care for their luxuries…" He was jealous for a moment, now seeing firsthand the comparison between the two standards of living. But he shook the mesmerized feeling off and renewed his conviction. "Bah, it makes them weak like those girly Asari! They must be no match for someone with a rugged upbringing like me!"

At each corner and hallway shaft, there was a camera and sensor pod tracking him as Monroe, her main holo-projection in engineering, watched his every move. Kal rounded a corner into an empty hallway, now confused and lost.

"Oh the secrets this ship could hold. Weapons, medicine, technology…" Kal hid behind a corner when a crewmember and an accompanying flying hover holo-drone, like two spinning gyros, came down the hall. He wasn't sure what the drone as for, but he watched as they approached another group of workers. A human-like figure materialized around the drone, looking just like the others. They all talked for a bit, and then parted ways. The human dematerialized and the drone hurried off, flying through the hallway at running speed.

"That must be…" His realization scared him. "The hologram, a platform! An AI!" He thought for a moment, knocking his helmet with his hand, before coming to a conclusion. "These alien AIs could be used against us! It's up to me to save the Fleet! Now, where do I find their, uhm… servers, that's it!"

He walked over to one of the many wall panels and looked up at it.

"An access console! I could get information from their computers! Just need to turn on my omni-tool here."

Kal raised his left arm up and jumped up to reach the wall console, waving it as he tried to get his omni-tool to engage and interface. What he didn't know was that his didn't have any way of interfacing with the Terran computer; it was a child's version used for learning, built from spare parts the Fleet recovered. Though even a regular omni-tool couldn't do what he thought it could.

Deciding to keep this amusing charade going, Monroe accessed his omni-tool instead and gave him access to a program of her design, mimicking Terran user interface.

"I'm in! Now I just need to…"

He stopped when he heard a noise. He turned, hearing it come from down the hall. Kal panicked worried he was about to be discovered. Looking around, he saw what looked like a small air vent. It was one of the entrances to the ship's utility hallways and tubes that lined the ship for maintenance and emergency passageways. He hurried to it and used his omni-tool to open it. Monroe opened it for him, sealing the immediate section so he couldn't go any further.

He quickly got in and closed the vent, looking out the air slots as the group of people came.

Jacob joined the class of children, walking with them down the hall of the ship. They were returning to their classroom after lunch. Many of them were dressed in their play costumes, getting ready for their big performance in the ship's auditorium about the signing of the Terran Constitution for Unification Day. The play was canceled yesterday for the room's use in hosting the aliens Admiral Ghirn and Admiral Vali. Jacob kept his distance. He had a hard time making friends or fitting in. The teacher himself didn't notice him join the group.

"This is so lame."

Approaching one of the labs for the ship's science crew, the class of about a dozen children stopped when their teacher, an ensign, noticed Goldston and Rael approaching the lab.

"Excuse me, Chief?" he called to them.

"Yes, Ensign?"

"Chief, sir. I notice you are accompanying a… Quarian?"

"Yes, Ensign. I see you are accompanying these children." It was as good a time as any to introduce the children to the alien in a more casual and comforting manner. "This is Professor Rael Zorah"

Rael nodded to him. "Greetings. I see you are being accompanied by a group of your race's children. You are an instructor?"

"Yes, Professor. Ensign Levine's the name. I'm the teacher for the third to fifth graders on the _Homestead_. They are the preadolescent group." He turned to his class. "Class, say hello to our ship's guest."

The group of children looked, mesmerized by the alien in some space suit. Jacob stood in the back, not as impressed.

" _An actual alien!"_

" _Cool!"_

" _Why can it speak Terran?"_

" _It's called a translator, dummy!"_

" _Why is it still in a space suit?"_

" _Mr. Levine just said the alien is a he, stupid! My mommy said that life could be in other forms not like us. And she's a scientist!"_

" _He has arms and legs. Hey Mr. Alien. Do you breathe oxygen?"_

Amused, Rael replied, "My species, the Quarians, does breathe the same air type as you do. But as you see, my kind must keep ourselves in these environmentally sealed suits."

Goldston continued, "You see children, Quarians have a weak immune system. They must keep themselves clean and sanitary at all times. You should be thankful you only have to take a bath once a day."

" _Once a day? Oops…"_

" _You boys are so gross!"_

As the children continued talking, Jacob, at the back of the group, heard a shuttering noise behind him in the hallway. He turned back, noticing an air vent hatch slowly closing. He walked to the hatch, curious as to why it was open for a brief moment. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow at the corner of the hallway a few meters from him.

"What the…"

He heard more noise, of someone running on the carpeted floor from him.

"Something's wrong here."

Looking back at the group, he decided they bored him, and that this might be more important. He left, off on his own adventure.

" _Does your race have children?"_ asked a little girl.

"Why yes, little girl. We do. In fact, I have a daughter myself. Without her suit, she has a similar hairstyle to yours. You're both very pretty."

" _Really? Oh, I want to see her! Could she come over?"_

"Maybe in the near future."

" _Ah! All girls are gross. Doesn't matter the race!"_

" _Shut up!"_

" _You shut up, you cootie covered girl!"_

" _Touch!"_

" _Oh God! Oh God!"_

They all watched as the boy cringed and fell on the ground, rolling a bit before stopping, lying still on the ground, pretending he was dead.

" _Great job Jenny, you killed Lawrence!"_

" _He was asking for it!"_

"His acting skills are getting better. That's why we casted him as Founder Lin for the play," said Levine.

"Agreed," replied Goldston.

"Is he okay?" asked Rael when he noticed them casually staring at the kid.

"He's just acting." Levine nudged the kid with his shoe, the kid grunting in annoyance. He then noticed something and turned to his class. "Hmmm." He did a head count. "Hey… Jenny, where's Jeff?"

" _He told me his Admiral Donnelly costume wasn't right, so he went back to his quarters to fix it."_

"I think there was another kid here, though…"

Rael turned to Levine. "Uh, what is this 'cootie' disease that the children speak of?"

* * *

 **Homestead Classroom #4**

Kal ran down the hall. Inside his suit, he was hyperventilating. He was almost discovered by a group of Terran children. He felt utterly embarrassed by the thought. He finally stopped and looked behind him.

"Keelah, that was close. Thank the ancestors these alien children are stupid. Not like me, the finest the Fleet has ever produced!"

He continued down the hall, before coming upon a door decorated with crayon artwork. He looked at the sign that said, ' **Room: 1345. Classroom #4** '. Not sure what the alien words said, he nonetheless approached the door.

The doors slid open, startling him. He looked in, noticing small furniture more suitable for his size. He walked in, the doors closing behind him as he entered the classroom. The lights were still dim, but he could see all of the desks and tables with artwork and notebooks.

Back in the hallway, from around the corner, Jacob ran in, looking around. He could have sworn he heard a noise from this area. A few officers and crewmen passed by; everything seemed normal.

"Not here. What could it have been? Maybe…" He snapped his fingers. "Oh my God, a spy! These damn aliens have a spy on board!"

He reached for his wrist, noticing he had forgotten his watch, which he had stored in his suitcase for the trip here. He ran up to a wall console and jumped, swatting it and getting the computer to acknowledge his presence. Just as well, Monroe watched.

"Computer! Connect me to Captain Taylor! It's an emergency!"

"Opening hail…"

In a moment, Taylor responded, "This is the Captain. Speak."

"Grandpa, Grandpa!"

"What, Jacob?" He sighed, the sound of him switching his comm from an open speaker to his private earpiece going through. "Jacob, I'm in a meeting with the Fleet Admiral! I need you off the comm. Speak to you later."

"But—!"

The comm went dead then the console deactivated and turned black like all the others that lined the wall.

Jacob took several deep breaths, worrying before he could think it through.

"No help… God… it's up to me?" Exasperated, he shook his head with newfound conviction. "I must stop the spy. I must save the ship. For Terra!"

Renewed with purpose, he continued down the hall, trying to track the 'spy' on board. As he left the area, Monroe continued to monitor Kal, now adding Jacob.

* * *

Back in main engineering, on the other side of the ship in the rear, was Monroe's main holoavatar. She was working on diagnostics for the Hyperdrive Manifold, giggling to herself as she watched the two kids scurry about the ship on some self-appointed mission. A crewmember noticed and walked by as he activated the control console next to her.

"Now what's so funny?" he asked.

"Oh, the Chief asked me to watch this alien kid that not so secretly snuck on board. Now, apparently, the Captain's grandson is chasing him, trying to stop the alien 'spy'."

He chuckled as he checked the pressure output of the nearby fusion reactor. "Kids these days. I guess they're all the same, no matter the race."

"Yah… I wonder."

"What?"

She snapped her holo fingers. "I've got a plan to get the most fun out of this."

"Really?"

"Yah. Yansey, you've got control of deck thirteen's upper computer commands, right?"

"I was about run a tachyon cleaning on the quantum computer for that deck," he responded.

She gave a somewhat sinister smile as she completed her diagnostics. It was a normal sight to humans, but would scare even the bravest of Quarians. "Connect my server to the holosuite for that deck. I've got a plan!"

He could tell this 'plan' was going to be good. "Connect your visual feed to my console, and you've got a deal!"

* * *

"This room. Seems suited for smaller people." Kal finally figured it out as he wondered around the room. "It's a classroom! Must be for those alien children I passed by."

He approached a desk, looking at the drawings on it.

"Pictures? These aliens must have dumb offspring to just be drawing at their age." He kept looking, examining their drawing utensils like crayons and drawing pencils. He picked one up and grabbed a piece of paper nearby. Kal drew some lines, and looked at what he drew. It was a very crude series triangle, put together to look like an explosion. But he found some amusement in seeing it. "Keelah, I wish I could draw stuff in class, though. Calculus is so boring."

He continued looking around when something grabbed his attention from across the room on a table. It was a model, made of balsa wood and poorly painted, of a tower with a wide curving width. It was somewhat tall, with a large dome building at its base, and hundreds of small flags of different colors and patterns. On the main tower were the letters ' **UE'**. It was the United Earth building in New York, home to Congress.

On the rest of the table were other famous human buildings that Kal didn't know about. There was one for the Palace of Versailles where the President lived. There was the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg, home to the Supreme Court post-Revival, and the Peace Palace in the Hugue, pre-Revival. There were other places of interest, including the Kremlin, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, the Brandenburg Gates, Christ the Redeemer, the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids of Giza, the Forbidden Palace, the Sydney Opera House, and the Great Wall of Canada.

As he looked at them, he moved his gloved hand close to touch them. In the instant he touched the top of one of the Pyramids, it suddenly collapsed, falling to pieces in a surprisingly spectacular burst, which then caused a chain reaction. One by one, each model monument collapsed, one after the other, until the only thing left was the Wall, which was simply two grey bricks glued together with a Canadian flag on it. It simply fell over on its side.

"Uh… oops."

He slowly backed away and continued exploring the room.

"There must be a computer I can access."

Kal looked around and found a desk with an unlocked computer that was connected to a small holodisc. Attempting to interface it directly, he accidentally activated the program on it. The holodisc turned on, displaying three human figures on it. It was a video of the final signing of the Terran Constitution. The one on the right was a female human of bright European complexion in a black suit dress. The one on the left was a male human in a grey suit, a vest instead of a coat, with a more tinted, Asian complexion. And the last one in the middle was male human of a much darker complexion in a dark blue suit.

" _Shall the human race be forever united!"_

" _Shall the Terran People have common resolve and eternal wisdom!"_

" _And shall we always know that, on this day, on the First of June, 2125, that a new nation was born, to forever protect Terra! Shall that new nation, the United Terran Federation, and her people, the Terrans, safeguard Life, Liberty, and Equality! For as long as God and his beloved creation so will it, shall it last forever!_

" _God save the Federation!"_

The video ended, Kal now more interested in what he saw. He quickly reasoned he just saw a video of the moment the humans united. He just as well concluded that the computer he found had information of their government, which could be useful to the Conclave and his Uncle Xen.

As he tried to access its database with his omni-tool, a map of the deck he was on appeared. He kept using his omni-tool, thinking he was translating the screen. In a moment, the words translated to Keelish, indicating that Main Engineering was only a few dozen meters down the hall. He read what seemed like a notice for all crewmembers, indicating that the compartment was to be empty for 'automated maintenance'.

"This is it! I'll access this room and I'll have control of everything on this ship! I could bring this ship to the Admiralty… I'd be as big a hero as Grandfather!"

He 'downloaded' the map and memorized the layout. As he finished, the doors slid open. Kal quickly turned around, seeing a figure of his own size at the door. It was a human with the same skin tone as the Terran from the video.

"Spy!" yelled Jacob at the top of his lungs.

Jacob quickly reached for a meter stick and unsheathed it from the storage tube like a sword. He charged at him in full force, wielding his ruler with both hands. Kal quickly dodged, Jacob smashing the console. Kal rolled across the floor and quickly jumped up as his enemy recovered. He looked around and grabbed another meter ruler as well.

"Don't bother, human! You're no match for me! The finest Quarian Marine!"

Jacob got into a fighting position.

"No bubble head alien will get past me! For Terra!"

"For the Fleet!"

They charged at each other and the fight began, their rulers clashing as they fought across the classroom. With each hit of their rulers, a small spark lit the room up as the metal side made contact. Moving about the room, they began to wreck up the place, knocking down books and other class materials to the ground. Jacob lifted his sword high up and hammered down. Kal dodged and Jacob struck a wall full of drawings, dozens of paper drawings swatted to the ground. Kal countered with a one handed jab, hitting a flat screen and stabbing it through when Jacob blocked and directed his sword's blow. Kal recovered and swung wildly in a full circle, hitting Jacob with power and pushing him against a table.

"You can't match superior Quarian physique!" Kal said as he held him at sword-ruler point.

Jacob looked up. "Oh yah?"

Jacob swung his ruler and knocked Kal's away. He then kicked him back, giving space between them. With the little time he had, Jacob charged up his kinetic abilities and unleashed a kinetic blast at Kal. He looked up, only a second to panic at what he saw before the blast hit him and slammed him against the wall.

He fell to the floor and groaned in pain.

"Aw damn. A biotic…"

As Jacob walked over and held his ruler at him, the doors opened once more. The teacher and the class had returned. Instantly, they were horrified at the sight of their classroom, completely messed up.

"My classroom!"

" _Our drawings!"_

" _Our computers!"_

" _My Wall!"_

Jacob readied to explain himself, since it wasn't the first time he had gotten in trouble for completely destroying a classroom for an entirely 'reasonable' reason. Kal took advantage of the fact no one noticed him. He looked around, noticing a bottle that had white powder coming from it. It was a bottle of baby powder for the makeup of some of the play actors for Unification Day.

Kal quickly grabbed it and sprang into action. He took aim and squeezed the bottle, blinding Jacob and shrouding them in a white smoke screen. As the class took notice, Kal ran out, ruler and bottle in hand, towards the door. He threw the powder at the foot of the class of children. The bottle burst open, covering them with a spray of white smoke as he shoved his way through the door and into the hallway. Kal was unfazed, thanks to his suit.

"Must get to engineering and take control of this ship!"

As they were all coughing from the powder, Jacob ran through, determined to stop Kal.

"Move, move! I'm trying to save the Federation!"

He emerged out of the hallway, wiping baby powder off his face as he looked around. At the end of the hallway, he saw the young Quarian tike rounding the corner. Jacob gave chase as the teacher yelled at them to come back.

* * *

 **Homestead "Main Engineering"**

Kal got to the main hatch of what the map told him was main engineering. He jumped up at a control panel and hit it, opening the doors. As he heard Jacob yelling at him, he rushed into the room to try and close it behind him. But the moment he walked through, he was mesmerized.

Inside was the design of the main engineering section of a Terran Navy ship larger than a light cruiser. From as far left as he could to see, to as far right as he could see, there were large fusion reactors lining the walls of the long rectangular section. Above him, there were numerous walkways spanning the length of the engineering section and across the main level. As he slowly entered in full, he noticed a central console hub, which divided up the area in half.

He walked over, noticing what was in front of him and the console was what looked like smaller reactors. They were the thousands of micro antimatter reactors, where thousands of molecules of anti-deuterium were mixed and annihilated at once to get the most matter to energy ratio in order to power the Hyperdrive Engine. When he looked behind him, spanning from the center of the engineering section to the back of the ship was the Hyperdrive manifold, which enabled Hyperdrive travel.

"Keelah. This makes the engineering section of the _Rayya_ look like a toy motor! These aliens are even more advanced than I thought. They could have hundreds, even thousands more ships with this powerful of an engine… imagine the weapons they must have…"

As he finally snapped out and began to access the central control panel, Jacob jumped through the closing door, and into the room, on a railing level just a few steps below Kal's.

"Give up, alien! This is the end of the line!" he said as he held his ruler out, pointed at Kal.

Kal grabbed his ruler off the console and moved in. "I will fulfill my mission. With this technology, we'll have Rannoch in days, not centuries."

"I will defend Terra and her fleet! _En garde_!"

They ran up and fought, their meter rulers clashing as they moved about the main center platform. Jacob moved forward to close the space between them, using his kinetics to try and deliver a quick ending blow to Kal. Kal fought back, using all the training and movie vids knowledge he had of battling biotics to dodge and counter Jacob's attacks. Kal landed the first blow, a whack to the stomach and Jacob's left arm, scratching his arm with the metal end. Jacob attempted to counter, he thrust forward and Kal dodged, but Jacob quickly swung left and hit him. He then followed up with two more whacks from his ruler on his suit before he swiped down and smacked Kal on his helmet, almost unhooking his head wires in the process.

Kal backed up, retreating off the central platform to the other side. That last swing could have killed him, opening his helmet to the air. He looked at his human opponent who held the high ground, knowing he must be careful. Kal moved in close, Jacob trying to hold him at a distance.

They both now figured it was a match to the death. The fate of everyone rested on who controlled the engineering room and the raw power the ship could produce. He advanced forward and swung at him, but Kal blocked and grabbed the wooden ruler, pulling it out of Jacob's hand. Seeing him disarmed of his external weapon, he knew he must act quickly against his biotic weapons as well. Kal then elbowed the kid and began his targeting to remove his biotic ability.

He dropped his own ruler and attacked, channeling his attack to the tips of his fingers as he began stinging Jacob with unparalleled speed, aiming for numerous key parts of the human body. Momentarily paralyzed, Jacob froze, not quick enough to stop Kal from spinning him around and getting behind him, hitting several key points of his body. He continued, going around him unchallenged.

Jacob finally regained control, and with a simple swing, shoved Kal out of the way.

Suddenly feeling the pain from those stings, he looked at the Quarian, angry.

"This is over!"

Jacob charged up and punched at Kal's direction for a killer kinetic blast. But nothing happened. Jacob looked at himself, noticing he was not glowing blue.

"What?"

"Ha ha!" said Kal as he laughed, his mouthpiece flashing intensely. "An old trick for dealing with Asari commandos. Since you humans look the so similar, I reasoned right that the same technique would work also!"

Jacob realized what he did and gasped. "You bubble head… you chi blocked me!"

"Call it whatever you like," Kal said, a smirk behind his facemask. "The advantage goes to me."

Jacob countered, "You think."

"What do you mea–"

Jacob quickly jumped forward and lunging at him. He landed a solid punch to the gut. Kal collapsed and Jacob threw a roundhouse kick, propelling him onto and across the main platform. Behind him was the main control console. He crashed into it, activating several random prompts. Kal then collapsed onto the ground, dazed.

"Keelah…"

"I did it!" Jacob jumped in the air, his arms raised up. "I saved the _Homestead_!"

" **Code Black is now in effect! Code Black is now in effect!"**

Kal got back up, "Uh, what's that?"

"Oh crap!"

Jacob rushed to the console, shoving Kal out of the way as he checked the console.

"You bubble head! You activated the self-destruct sequence!"

"M-Me!? You kicked me into the screen panel! It's your fault!"

"Oh, shut up!" Jacob tried to activate some overrides he remembered seeing, to no effect. "Use your alien watch and stop this!"

Kal rushed over and turned on his omni-tool. But his device couldn't interface with the panel. He kept trying every hacking technique he learned, but his omni-tool did nothing.

" **Self-destruct in fifteen seconds… Fourteen… Thirteen…"**

"We're gonna die!"

"So this is how it ends." He took a deep breath and held his head up as he sniffed. "I give my life for the Fleet!"

Jacob turned to Kal. "Was it worth it?"

"Uh, actually… no! Keelah, we're actually going to die!

Jaocb moaned. "Grandpa is going to be so angry."

Kal turned to the human. "I-I'm sorry about trying to infiltrate your ship."

Jacob nodded. "I'm sorry for beating you up."

"Hey, I was winning right before this!"

" **Three!"**

They both hugged each other, closed their eyes, shaking as the last seconds drew closer.

" **Two… one!"**

"Ahhhh!"

"Meep!"

They both screamed out loud, the last action of the supposed last second of their lives. They then noticed that they were still alive, or something like that. They looked around, now in a different room than before, much smaller. It had bright neon walls and structural antennas all around. They pushed each other away.

"This… we're… we're in a holosuite?"

"A what?"

They then noticed something else. Laughter was coming from behind them. They turned, Monroe pointing and laughing at them. The comms were apparently open as well, as more laughter was coming from the stationed crew in the actual engineering section.

"Oh man, that was just hilarious!"

Kal asked, "Who are you?"

She kept laughing, signaling them to wait before finally settling down.

"Lieutenant Francine Monroe, Synthetic Engineering Division."

"A what?"

"I'm an AI, yah alien tike." She smiled as she shook her head, "Everyone saw you enter the ship, so Chief Goldston asked me to watch you."

"Wait… you knew what he was doing?" asked Jacob, surprised.

"Well of course. Not like he could have actually done anything that would compromise the ship's security. He's a kid!"

Kal sighed, disappointed and embarrassed. "Oh man. I'm a horrible spy."

"Well, I had fun." chuckled Monroe, "I didn't expect the grandson of the captain to find and try to stop you. But when you were on Kal's trail, I just knew how this was going to end. Making you two fight!"

"You made us fight each other and think we blew up the ship!?" argued Jacob.

"It's not like you could really injure yourselves. Besides, you both were so driven in your parts I couldn't just stop you. It was too funny. Much better than that lame play the other kids were doing."

Kal was confused. "But those maps…"

"Fake! You didn't think your toy watch could hack our computers, or that we'd let anyone simply enter an empty engineering room? Come on now! We have dozens of AI monitoring this ship by default."

"It seemed so easy."

Jacob snapped his fingers. "Oh wait… aren't we in the forward part of the ship?"

"Took you long enough. All you did destroy was a classroom."

Kal turned to Jacob. "Do your AIs always do this to you? Use their creators for cheap entertainment?"

Jacob sighed, "Yah."

"I guess it's better than being killed by them."

Monroe giggled as she walked up to them and rubbed them both on the head. "Aw! See, it all worked out! You both have a new playmate!"

They both grumbled a bit at the thought.

"Well then. I'd better be off. You two play nice now."

"Wait, Lieutenant!" yelled Jacob. "Where is Captain Taylor?"

"Oh, he's in cargo bay two. Now then, you two run along. I'll be watching."

Her hologram disappeared, the holosuite doors opened. The two boys turned to each other, not sure what to do now.

"That was… weird," commented Kal.

"Uh, yah…" Jacob scratched the back of his head, not sure what to say next. He then spoke, chuckling a bit. "Man, I can't believe you thought you were a spy."

"Hey, you thought I was one too!"

"But they knew you were here the moment you entered the ship!"

Kal sighed and lowered his head. "Auntie Miri makes it look so easy…"

After a short awkward silence, both just standing in front of one another in the holosuite, Jacob held his hand out. He was all the while nervous, uncomfortable enough with other human kids, let alone an alien one.

"Uh… my name is Jacob Taylor, by the way. What's yours?"

"Oh?" Kal was surprised by his introduction. He looked at Jacob's hand, unsure of what he was supposed to do. "My name is Kal. Kal'Reegar Nar Rayya." He extended his hand out to match what Jacob was doing. Jacob grabbed it and gave a firm shake.

"Kal Reegar… Uh, what's a 'Nar Rayya'?"

"That's how we refer to the ship we were born on."

They let go of each other's hand.

"Oh, hmm. I wasn't born on a ship."

"It could also refer to where you are from."

"Okay then. I guess that makes me Jacob Taylor 'Nar Earth'!"

" _Earth_? Auntie Miri mentioned that. Is that your home world?"

Jacob nodded, smiling. "Yah, that's where we humans are from. If you like, I think I can get Grandpa, I mean, Captain Taylor to take you there to visit."

Kal looked at him, surprised. He had viewed this new, seemingly advanced race with suspicion. He had tried to infiltrate their ship and steal from them. He had even fought against their own. But to hear this young man invite him, this stranger, a mischievous child of an outcast race, to their own home world. Behind his mask, he felt tears in his eyes.

"I-I… I would love to."

"Awesome! You'll love it. They recently fixed up all the damage from the Revival, even filled up most of the giant craters."

"Uh, so. What now?" asked Kal.

"We should head to the captain…" he stared at Kal for a moment. Then he gave him a light push on the shoulder before running off. "Tag! You're _It_!"

Jacob ran off towards the doors. Confused, Kal ran after him. "What do you mean I'm ' _It_ '?"

As they both left, running through the hallway, yelling and laughing at each other, it marked a new beginning. The first true Terran-Alien friendship in the galaxy, the start of a long-lasting friendship between a Human and Quarian boy, something unheard of until First Contact. Many more things lay in wait for them. An adventure through life, or really, a lifelong misadventure for two boys the galaxy was simply not ready, or in the mood, for. Here it begins; The Misadventures of Kal and Jacob!

* * *

 **\/\/\/\/\/ A/N \/\/\/\/\/**

I hope you all enjoyed!  
Please feel free to review and comment.  
I would appreciate it very much!

And of course,  
My special thanks to MoonSword1994!  
Thank you for all your beta-reading work,  
I couldn't have done it without you!

 **/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\**

* * *

Posted on April 1, 2017 - Beta-read by MoonSword1994


	2. 2: Homeworld on the Range

**Chapter 2:** **Oh Give Kal a Home, Where the Elcor may Roam.**

* * *

 **Outskirts of New Rayya, New Haestrom  
** **August 10, 2167**

From as far as the eye could see on the main continent of New Haestrom was fertile farmland, mountains surrounded the valley at the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, only broken up by the large automated machines that roamed the land, laying the infrastructure of the outskirts of farmland outside the city. In the distance were a half dozen unfinished skyscrapers for the capital of the planet, New Rayya.

A shuttle landed on the empty, newly paved road. In the distance, one could see the city it would lead into. On the other end, one could see the massive automatic roller that was making the road, laying down massive pipes and wiring before covering it in concrete and asphalt. The shuttle's doors opened and from it, a few Quarian families departed.

"Father, is this our new home?" asked a little girl in a purple suit. She looked around, taking in the massive sky and the wide-open space. It was the first time she had ever stepped foot on a planet Many don't even leave their birth ship till their teenage years.

He grabbed her hand, and her mother grabbed the other, and they all walked off the road and onto the grass of their given plot. He then knelt down and looked at her.

"Yes, Tali. This is it! This…" Rael looked around and took in the view. It wasn't just it that amazed him, it was that it was theirs now. It was not Rannoch, but it was home regardless; a place to truly begin again. He turned back to his little girl, "This is home."

Tali looked down and felt the cold morning grass through her little suit boots. She bent over and grabbed a rock on the ground. Through her mask, she looked at it, contemplating. The solid ground, the open sky beneath the stars she came from, this rock in her hand that she quickly stored in her pocket: It was all hers. The thought overwhelmed her.

"Home…"

* * *

On the other side of the shuttle, the Reegar family got off, escorted by Commodore Taylor and his grandson, Jacob. Walking to their plot of land, the Reegars and Taylor looked on, amazed. The Reegars had a home; on solid ground and under natural sky. Taylor was amazed himself. It was why he joined the Navy, to explore the unexplored, to see what the galaxy had to offer. Even at his age, it never grew old. He left for the frontier, but to some, that frontier was a home.

Jacob was less impressed. He had traveled to many worlds, traveling with his dad on the Terran Merchant Fleet. Occasionally, he did so without his father's knowledge of that arrangement. The sight didn't seem any different to him. But as he walked up to Kal, he noticed his alien friend was experiencing a different reaction.

He looked on, mesmerized by the sight. Though he stood on a small dot in the vastness of space, all he could see with his confined senses was the never-ending space in every direction. He kept looking around, amazed like all the other Quarian kids.

"This is awesome!"

"Eh. It's alright," said Jacob, shrugging his shoulders.

"This… ground. The air, the sky…" He took a deep breath, taking in the New Haestrom air through his filters, "This is my home."

"Yah. And only a 25-hour day cycle. 32 hours of night on Eden Prime can mess with your head."

"But to see day, the same star casting light and heat on me every day, and to see the stars through a filter of air. Our pilgrims tell us stories of this… now we all can see it. Live it."

Jacob thought about it for a moment, "I guess it is amazing, in that way."

His father Donn walked over to Kal and knelt down, placing his arm around him as they both looked on.

"This is our home now, son." He turned and looked at him, "I hope you like it."

"I do, Dad. Thank you."

As they looked around their designated lot, a hover car appeared on the horizon and quickly flew towards them. They turned to see as it landed near them.

"That must be your DIA agent," Taylor said.

All four doors of the Terran vehicle, an old '57 Edison with government license plates and bar codes, opened up but there was no one in it. Instead, the seats were filled with spherical gyro holodrones. One by one, they turned on and flew out of the car, heading to the other four families that were checking out their land. One flew up to the Reegars.

"What is going…?"

Before Donn'Reegar could finish, the drone fell on the sidewalk in front of them. It then activated, displaying a caucasian woman in a blue business suit face first into the sidewalk cement. They looked around, seeing the other drones were displaying their holobodies correctly, each of the same woman.

After an annoyed groan, she stood up and dusted herself off.

"Damn ITs can't maintain a freaking drone." She turned to them and held her hand out, "Apologies. I am Ms. Sofia Yeong. Department of Internal Affairs."

The three Reegars all took a step back, startled for a moment by the AI. But Kal quickly jumped forward in a fighting stance in front of his parents.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you!"

He lunged forward and tried to tackle her. Instead, she looked on as he simple phased through her and landed in the newly paved gutter instead. His head then became stuck in a drainage pipe, and he was flailing his arms as he yelled out for help. The agent leaned over and picked him up before placing him back on the sidewalk.

"There you go, little suit man."

Kal got back on his feet, dazed by the experience. He tumbled about and bumped into the car, and in the back seat, a few small animal cages were rattled. One fell out of the car and an Amaterasu Rock Owl with a blue ribbon around its neck got out of its cage. It quickly dashed out of the cage and flew away.

"My owl!"

"Damn it, Kal!" Donn quickly pulled him back, "Sorry about that, Ms. Yeong."

She sighed, but put on a smile, keeping her program to happy, "No worries. You're not the first Quarian family I have dealt with." A few dozen meters from them, there was some yelling, followed by gunshots. She kept looking at the Reegars with a cheerful grin as another drone left the car and rushed back. They kept staring at her as they heard an electric discharge and some more yelling. "And the owl will be back."

"I, uh, am surprised they sent an AI to help us with our relocation," said Nelis, Kal's mother.

She nodded in acknowledgment and answered, "First off we, from the DIA, and the Federation, would like to thank you for volunteering to go planet side and colonize the beautiful world of New Haestrom."

"Many would have rather stay on the live ships than go planet side," said Donn, "But when I was on the scouting mission, I saw this! And well…" He put his arms around his wife and son, "The idea of this being a home was a dream. And meeting the Commodore and your lot here made it a reality."

"We wish nothing but the best for your race, and more importantly, our united people!"

Taylor joined in on the conversation, "I agree with those sentiments completely, and I'm glad to be doing my part. But I'm guessing when it comes to Artificial Intelligence integration, they're just going to throw you into the deep end?"

Yeong rephrased his response, "We want as quick an integration between them and us as possible. So I, and my many multi-threaded copies, are here to help you and the other families settle down in the most direct fashion. You know, houses, jobs, family organization, that sort of thing."

"Shouldn't we discuss this back on the _Rayya_?" asked Nelis.

"Nah, we can do it right here!" She turned to the kids, wanting them to leave, "But it is all 'boring adult stuff'."

"Grandpa, do we have to stay and listen to hours of boring colonial planning?" asked Jacob, pulling on his shirt.

Donn thought of something, "How about you and Kal go exploring? I saw a creek and a small wood some distance from here on the way down."

"That's a great idea! Let's go explore and scout the region!" Kal pointed over to the creek.

"Beats being here. Let's go!"

* * *

They ran down the empty street, fields of green on either side. Ahead were the woods, tall green trees with glowing orange bulbs hanging from them. The road continued through it, were the auto-paver was, still paving away and pushing the frontier back. They ran up to a small metal bridge the paver built over a creek in the middle of the woods.

They climbed down over to the side of the bridge into the creek. Besides the bridge, the area was untouched, the yellow sunlight seeping through the tall green tree line onto the brown and yellow ground, the critters of the native wildlife scuttled about. The waters of the creek continued downstream from the bridge. Wide, but shallow, the human and Quarian crossed back and forth, hopping on rocks as they followed the current downstream. All the while, they talked and laughed and played around as they enjoyed their day of exploration.

Kal picked up some sand at the edge of the creek.

"Wow, so that's what sand feels like."

"Hey Kal," said Jacob as he pointed a large rock in the middle of the creek. "I bet you can't make it from there."

He placed the sand in his pocket and scoffed at him, "Please. Watch me, Jacob."

From the edge of the creek, Kal backed up and ran straight for the creek. At the very edge, he pushed off and jumped, Jacob watched from another rock as the Quarian flew; he was clearly amazed at the sight. Kal held his arms out and forward, trying to get as close as possible.

Appearing too far back, he barely managed to land his right foot on the edge of the rock, millimeters from the water. With just that on the rock, he tried to balance, waving his arms wildly.

"See, I got… this—!"

He slipped and fell into the water. Jacob laughed as he jumped over to some other rocks and reached out to Kal, whom was disgruntled that he had ended up in the water. He took his friend's hand and Jacob pulled him out.

"See, I was right?"

"Oh, don't be a prazza, Jacob."

"How was the water?"

"This suit might be water tight, but I could still feel the cold!"

Kal quickly dried up and they continued down the creek a bit more. The ground just past the embankment rose a few meters from the ground, creating small cliffs that ran down each side of the creek. As they continued, they noticed something on the ridge opposite them. As they drew closer, it became clearer. It looked like a fort. Some old fallen logs and sticks were stuck together to form the wall and it overlooked the creek below. Though makeshift in all ways, it seemed rather well built and large. No one kid could have built it. As they approached it from their side of the river, someone shouted out from above the ridge.

"Halt!"

They turned around, seeing three boys on the ridge. In the center was a Quarian kid, around the same age as Kal. Flanking him was a Turian and a Batarian. All of them seemed to be wearing a uniform of sorts, blue and green with a yellow stash. The Quarian in the middle had a white stash instead. Jacob recognized that they were wearing the standard Terran Boy Scouts cap, though the Turian had his head spikes sticking out from the back.

"You have entered the territory of the Fort Jordon Brigade!"

The two turned to each other in confusion then looked back at them.

"The what?" asked Jacob, cocking an eyebrow.

"We are the local brigade of the United Terran Boy Scouts, New Haestrom Troop Q-7. I am its leader, Commander Mil'Glok Nar Austia!" He turned to his two subordinates. "And these are my lieutenants, Francisco Toval, and Burkal Xanbel."

"Uh, ok?" Kal was neither impressed or understood what that meant, "I'm Kal. This is Jacob."

"That's beside the point!" He jumped and slid down the slope to the embankment. The other two quickly followed. He walked over as his two lieutenants un-holstered their rubber band rifles and aimed at Kal and Jacob. "How do I know you're not Girl Scout spies!"

Jacob raised his arms up, "We're not!"

Kal looked at Mil, confused, "Do we look like girls?" he turned to Jacob, wondering why he had his arms up, "And what are you doing? They're not real guns."

Mil chuckled and pulled out a wooden rubber band pistol. He took aim and fired a rubber band, hitting Kal in the arm. He screamed as he grasped his arm from the sharp pinch that passed his suit's natural armor and bit him.

"Ah!"

"They hurt like hell!" Mil took aim again, "Now then. Talk!"

"Ok, fine, fine!"

As they waited for his response, Kal thought of a plan. He began making up some story, distracting them as he talked. He moved his hand into his pocket and grabbed what was inside.

"You see, we were just… Pocket Sand!" He threw the sand at them, blinding them for a brief moment. He turned back and gestured to Jacob. "Run for it!"

* * *

"So. Any career plans for the future?"

Back at the land lot, the Reegars continued discussing the future. Some other shuttles had landed nearby and the entire neighborhood was now gathering.

"Haven't thought about it," said Donn, "I was in the Marines for about a decade, right after Nelis and I got back from pilgrimage. After that long, and what happened on Illium, I just took the option to be discharged from service. The missus here was one of the scientists running the hydroponics on the _Rayya_."

"That's perfect," said Yeong, waving her arm over to the land, "One of the oldest programs we have for our veterans is the 'Swords for Plows' program, where we teach and aid soldiers to become farmers and ranchers on the colonies."

Taylor nodded, "My own dad took the program a few decades back. Had the first okra farm on Terra Nova, back when during the Golden Age."

Nelis crossed her arms, "A farmer? I was hoping for a job change! Not helping my husband after he kills his first batch of crops."

"A Marine to a farmer seems a tremendous change in scenery," replied Donn. He turned to his wife, "And I can surely grow a simple plant."

She chuckled, "You can't even get a VI to water the plants."

"It'll be fine. But how about you, Mrs. Reegar. Do you have any plans, or skills besides your old profession?" asked Yeong.

"Well, when I was on Pilgrimage, I learned how to cook from this asari while I was a waitress at this bar on Illium."

"That's how we met." Donn smiled under his mask.

Taylor chuckled, "How romantic."

"Oh please. He was trying to steal food because he spend all his credits trying to get out of the Terminus. If I didn't sneak him out through the back, he'd be in jail."

"Your little thief?"

She turned to him and nudged him, "You can say that, in more than one way. Anyway, when we had surplus crop on the _Rayya_ , instead of nutrient paste, I'd save it and make a real meal for special occasions."

Taylor turned to her, "Taking food from the main supply?"

"As long as the Captain got some, he was fine with it. I could always get my way with him. Same goes for Donn here."

Taylor chuckled, "Back home, they say the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

She laughed, "When you have that down to a science, being a cook applies to a lot of fields."

Yeong had an idea. "A cook? Ah! Why don't you open a restaurant?"

"Start my own business?"

"Why not? Unlike the Fleet, we project a massive surplus of food and we are finalizing importing treaties with the Hierarchy. Image it: you leading the way in reviving ancient Quarian food delicacies. In fact, we have special government loans to help you start one up, with educational assistance from Harper Finances consultants."

Nelis thought about it, "My own restaurant…"

Donn looked back at the farmland, "A farmer, to feed those I once protected…"

"I wonder when exploring the stars will get boring?" Taylor said to himself, thinking of his own career choice. He looked down at the golden pip on his shirt, "Might as well go for admiral…"

* * *

Mil quickly wiped the sand off his mask.

"They're getting away! Open fire!"

Kal and Jacob began hopping across the creek, jumping from rock to rock. The three scouts took aim and fired. With each pull, a spiked cog at the back of their wooden weapons turned forward, unleashing a thick blue band at the front of their weapons. Around the two boys, high-tension rubber bands flew across the air, swishing right past them as they try to dodge.

"Oh man, oh man, oh man!"

"If they're here, that fort might be empty!" A rubber band hit him in the butt. "Ah! Bosh'tet! Let's get up the slope and hide in their fort!"

They got to the other side. Mil and his scouts began crossing as well, running through the waters as they fired at them. While they ran, they popped the old cog out and put in a new one, a rubber band on each spike. They hooked up all the bands at once at the front and pulled back, locking the wheels at the back.

"Don't let them escape!"

"These band aren't accurate at this range!" said Burkal.

"If we had a beanbag rifle, they be down by now," said Francisco.

"Oh, they'll get more than that! Signal the fort! Get the E.B.T. ready!"

* * *

"Over here!"

The two of them quickly climbed up the ridge and ran around the tree line to the entrance of the fort. Using a makeshift mash of rope and ceramic plates from colonial pre-fabs tied together, the doors of the fort were left a bit open. Not fully noticing it, Kal and Jacob and ran through. They quickly turned back and sealed the doors.

Once inside, they ran into the courtyard, but stop immediately. There was a makeshift, but fully functioning fort inside, complete with buildings, huts, and walkways along the tops of the walls. Inside it was about a two dozen Boy Scouts, mostly humans and Quarians, with some other races, armed to the teeth with more powerful, and painful, one-shot beanbag air compression musket rifles. In the middle of the courtyard was a tree stripped of branches acting as a flagpole with the United Boy Scouts of Terra. Next to it was a young Elcor, padded with cardboard armor with a Quarian sitting on top, who was manning a rotatable potato cannon.

One of the scouts yelled out, "Take aim!"

The young Elcor spoke with his race's signature monotone voice, "Badassfully: Elcor Battle Tank online. Kiss your ass goodbye."

Kal stood there, surprisingly calm and unemotional. He turned to Jacob and calmly spoke, "We're dead."

"Not just yet!" answered Jacob as he began formulating a plan.

"Fire!"

They all fired their single shot weapons at once; a wave of beanbags and a large chocolate potato came right at them. With a yell of fury, Jacob powered up his kinetics and unleashed a kinetic lash, knocking the scouts' munitions away. They all took cover, some even behind the Elcor, who brushed off the beanbags. The potato came right back and hit the flagpole tree, chipping away a chunk of the trunk. It remained standing thanks to multiple ropes tied to it from each main wall support.

"Hurry, take cover!"

The two ran for a stairway leading up to a walkway. Along the way, they each grabbed a rubber band pistol and a pump action beanbag shotgun.

At the doors of the fort, Mil and his team ran in, his entire brigade disorganized. He saw Kal and Jacob running up the perimeter of the wall, overlooking the courtyard.

"What the heck! You prazzas! Get them!"

They regrouped and reloaded as Kal and Jacob ran, heading to the other side.

"How the hell do we get out of this?" asked Jacob as he fired off a magazine wheel of rubber bands in the scouts' direction, making them scramble.

Kal stopped and fired of a beanbag round from the hip, hitting one scout before he ran off again, "Keelah, just keep running!"

Across the creek, on a branch high up in the trees shrouded by the orange flower bulbs, a different kind of scout sat there. As the chaos in the fort continued, the scout looked through her binoculars. She took down some notes of what was happening.

She then grabbed her radio and reported in, "Colonel, there appears to be a division in their ranks. The entire fort is in chaos."

"Good work. Keep us posted, moving troops outs."

* * *

"You made an excellent choice. This is a fashionable design. Less 'visiting', more 'staying'."

The Reegars had finally chosen a house design along with the other families with them. They watched as numerous large cargo shuttles came racing to their location from the city. They lined up and stopped in front of each family's lot, slowly hovering in position. At the Reegars' lot, they watched as a group of AI controlled LOKI mech drones dropped from the shuttle as a large pile of wood and carbon-metal plates was lowered on the ground.

With haste, the drones worked at lightning speed, building up the Reegars', and everyone else's, house with agile speed. From the foundation, they began laying down piping and wiring, and then built up from there.

"Ah, standard quick build. We can get a whole neighborhood built in an hour," said Yeong.

"I'm surprised you can build something so quickly," said Nelis.

"When you have the combined industry of dozens of worlds, you get this. Instant colonization!"

Taylor added on, "We've had practice after the Revival; everyone was rushing to quickly rebuild our home world after the Fallen Angel Deployment. We rebuilt Europe in a single year. Took a decade the century before and there were far less nuclear weapons back then. But you should have seen it in the old days during the decade of exploration. It took years just to build a small town on Eden Prime from a handful of colonists and a few prefab buildings."

"Imagine what we could build when we have Rannoch back," said Donn.

"It'd be nice if we could get those Geth bots to do it for us," commented Yeong.

Nelis giggled at the thought and nodded, "Make them rebuild what they destroyed. I like the sound of that."

"What? Oh yah, that. The irony sounds nice. And these stupid mechs are not cheap…"

Almost on cue as they were half way done, the mechs all stop. They walked to the front yard and quickly constructed some metal benches, which they all proceeded to sit on. From about half of them, smoke began to come out of their mouths in short intervals.

"Uh… what are they doing?" asked Nelis.

Yeong sighed, "The damn idiot controlling them is on a smoke brake."

"An AI is on a 'smoke break'?" she asked, staring at her in disbelief.

"Yah, I know. Unions! But what can you do. Speaking of which, about how to pay taxes…"

* * *

"They're reloading the Elcor!"

Down below in the courtyard, the Elcor slowly turned around as his gunner reloaded a potato into the muzzle and opened the chamber to spray human hairspray.

"Violently: Locked and Loaded."

Kal stood up with his shotgun and fired, hitting the gunner on top of the Elcor and knocking him to the ground. The other scouts regrouped and fired another devastating volley, but Jacob erected a barrier around them, protecting them as Kal pumped in another bag and started picking them off.

"Ha! It's just like training practice on the Fleet!" said Kal as he fired at the scouts below.

Jacob continued holding his barrier up as he fired with his other hand, "Heck, this is easy! I don't even have my own amplifier yet."

"That kid can handle a shotgun," said Francisco as he stayed behind the Elcor.

"Mil, how can we get past a biotic?" Asked Burkal.

Mil yelled out as he waved his hand in the air for all to see, "With more fire power! Break everything out!"

A few scouts retreated to the weapons' shed, and quickly came out with two more cannons. Each potato cannon crew quickly took aim and fired, unloading more high velocity potatoes at Jacob's barrier. He, in turn, held his ground. He dropped his pistol and held both his arms out as he kept their only protection up. But the strain on his un-amplified and still in training kinetics was starting to show.

"Never mind!" He yelled out, "Kal, do something!"

Kal took aim at anther scout, pulled the trigger, only to hear a click. He was out of ammo, "Give me a moment."

He looked around, trying to find a way to break through. There was yelling and commotion all around him as he took deep breaths and thought of a plan. He then noticed the Elcor, trying to get someone to man the turret on him.

"Angrily: Get the heck on that gun."

An idea came to mind. Next to him was one of the rope supports for the flagpole. Looking back to the Elcor, he grabbed hold of the rope and bashed at the support latch with his shotgun. It quickly gave way and Kal came swinging down at the Elcor.

"Keelah!" said Mil as he stopped and looked at the sight of the swinging Kal.

"Ah!" screamed out Kal all the while.

He jumped on top of Gam and manned the potato cannon. The scouts hesitated to shoot back, at risk of friendly fire. Gam the Elcor began rampaging quickly as he attempted to get rid of Kal. But Kal grabbed hold and took aim. He fired a shot, destroying one of the cannons as its crew jumped out of the way.

As Kal held onto the armor of the Elcor, trying to reload the cannon at the same time, Mil took action. He rushed over and grabbed the other cannon and prepped it himself. As Kal finished reloading, Mil took aim.

"Gam, get down!"

The Elcor complied and dropped to the ground. Mil took aim, but the lack of resistance gave time for Kal to do the same as well. In a split second, they both fired, two potatoes were in the air and headed in the same direction.

They collided, just off from dead center. Kal's turned and went towards the ground, several scouts jumped out of the way before it impacted in the ground. Mil's continued and collided with the flagpole. More bark was stripped off and the tree lost its structure.

There was a loud crack and then it gave way. Everyone stopped and turned as the flagpole began to tilt.

"It's coming down!" yelled Jacob.

They all scattered as the tree came down. But as the Elcor shrugged Kal off and ran for cover, Mil stood there, struck with horror. Kal saw him and he made a mad sprint for him. As the tree fell, Kal tackled him out of the way. They landed on the ground as the tree crashed into a hut, destroying it.

Face first in the ground, Kal rolled over, gasping. He looked over just as Mil jumped on him and attacked, Kal quickly blocked his punches and held them back.

"You bosh'tet! You destroyed the fort!"

"You were the one who fired first!"

Kal pushed him off and they both stood up. Jacob ran over, shotgun in each hand, but the other scouts blocked him.

"We were sent from New Rayya to secure the frontier! We are the only line of defense against the girls!"

"The girls? Are you crazy?! You're just scouts in some kid program!"

"You don't understand! This is bigger than any of us! All of New Haestrom is on the line!"

From behind, Francisco called out, "Mil, catch!"

He tossed him a beanbag shotgun and Mil took aim at the defenseless Kal.

Kal raised his arms up, "Don't be stupid!"

"If we lose the frontier, at least I can bring back the traitor who caused it!"

* * *

"Attack!"

The doors of the fort burst open and at the entrance was a squad of elite Girl Scouts. Consisting mainly of humans and Quarians, and like the boys had some Turians and Batarians, they had their green berets on; the green camouflaged patterns on their dresses and badge sash indicated they were special force scouts. The Quarian girls had a similar setup on their suits, metal plates with eye sockets where their regular masks would be. Unlike the boys, they were far better equipped.

Around the fort, grappling hooks flew up in the air and over the walls of the fort, more girls quickly climbed up and entered the fort. In moments, the girls surrounded the boys, each armed with more advanced beanbag auto-shotguns. At the doors of the fort, their leader walked in, a human girl with black hair and a black sash full of different badges.

"So, this is what Dewy sent to claim the frontier? A bunch of untrained, undisciplined boys with a shoddy excuse of a fort?"

Mil argued back, "At least we have one!"

She looked around, shaking her head as she saw the destroyed huts and fallen flagpole. "It'll take effort to fix this to our standards. But it'll do…"

"Who the hell are you?" asked Jacob.

"Me? I'm Colonel Trish Walterburg, United Terran Girl Scouts, and leader of the entire Troop R-9 of New Haestrom. My parents agreed to move here to help the Quarians colonize this place, so I took command and formed up the Girl Scouts for New Rayya City."

Jacob looked at her, dumbfounded, "Colonel? This isn't some paramilitary force. You're just a scout. What are you, thirteen? You should be selling cookies or something."

She chuckled, "You must be an Earther. The scouts do things differently in the colonies." She grabbed her custom meter ruler and unsheathed it, "Now then, Mil. Surrender this fort and I'll let you and your so called 'brigade' here leave unharmed."

"I will never surrender!"

"You poor fool. You're still as new to scouting as this Earther and the Quarian here that single-handedly took down your defenses. You already lost." She turned and looked at Kal. Looking through his mask, she was momentarily surprised by his appearance. She nodded in approval as she lightly pressed her ruler on Kal's chest, "Such a handsome boy. I wouldn't want to ruin your suit, and by extension, you. I'll let you and your friend here leave. Pretend this never happened."

Jacob turned to him, "Awesome, come on Kal. Let's get the heck out of this crazy mess."

"Just go," said Mil, "She's right. We did lose. Leave. You've done enough damage."

Kal looked around. The boys had given up; the girls held them at gunpoint as they laid down their arms and surrendered. Jacob walked up to him, gesturing at the entrance of the fort. Kal sighed and turned away, his head down as he joined Jacob. They slowly headed out. He felt bad for them. He felt terrible, and more importantly, responsible. He felt it was his fault for allowing the girls to take the fort.

He couldn't let it end that way. He turned to Jacob, signaling with a move of his head towards the main Girl Scouts holding the entrance. Jacob quickly showed tension on his face, knowing what his plan was, but Kal gave a stronger look through his mask. With no one noticing, Jacob reluctantly nodded in agreement.

As they reached the gates, they countered.

"Pocket Sand!"

"Kinetic Pimp Slap!"

The two quickly attacked the guards, blinding and knocking them back as they wrestled control away and took their auto shotguns. They quickly shot them with a beanbag round and turned back, opening fire on the Girl Scouts in the courtyard. A barrage of beanbags came flying at them. Trish and her personal squad dodged out of the way, but the ensuing chaos gave Mil all the time he needed.

"Take back the fort! For New Haestrom!"

Everyone began fighting. From the courtyard to the walkways along the wall, there was shouting and yelling as the boys and girls fought each other in hand-to-hand combat. In the courtyard, the Elcor Gam got up and began charging, knocking away the Girl Scouts as Mil, Francisco, and Burkal rallied a new line of defense in the courtyard.

"With immense enthusiasm: Bring it on!"

Kal and Jacob fought their way back in, unleashing the full power of their shotguns as they sprayed the area with air-compression fired beanbags. Kal was quick with his aim and precise, using what he learned from his father to take out several scouts on the walkway, as clean and efficiently as any Quarian Marine. Jacob raised a barrier with one hand and fired from the hip with the other as he cleared a way across the courtyard towards Mil and his scouts. He felt like those kinetics from the military propaganda videos.

Trish got back up and retreated towards the gate. But she wasn't ready to give up so quickly. She was set on taking the fort and making the boys suffer.

"Bring in the gun carriages!"

Her squad retreated with their wounded and the fit formed up at the gates. Locking them open, the girls took cover and fired back at the boys in the middle of the courtyard, taking cover behind the fallen flagpole tree. As Mil jumped back up on Gam to man the cannon, the girls' secret weapon arrived.

He yelled out, "Machine guns!"

Two off-road motor carts rolled up, blocking the gate. On each of them was a gunner manning a specially built rubber band machine gun. It had several dozen spiked cogs lined up in the back side-by-side, and hundreds of rubber bands stretched from them to the front of the gun. The gunners turned them at the boys and when Trish pointed with her ruler, they fired. Each cog turned one after the other with unmatched speed, unleashing a volley of rubber bands.

The boys took cover as the entire courtyard filled up with rubber bands. When one gun depleted, the gunner simply slid off the base holding the cogs and loaded a new cog house in, simultaneously stretching them, before firing again. Even Gam the Elcor was chafing from the fire, his armor being chipped away. Mil took aim with the cannon and fired.

The potato made its mark and hit one of the guns. It exploded, sending hundreds of stretched rubber bands flying in all direction.

"I'm out!"

The second one concentrated its fire on them. Trish rallied her squad and the girls launched a counterattack to take down the boys and capture the fort once and for all. Kal moved his way over to Mil.

"I have a plan! We need to attack!"

"What?! We'll be slaughtered!"

"Damn it, do you want this fort? Trust me! I'm your only hope!"

"Ah fine." He turned to his boys, "Scouts, forward! Attack!"

"Jacob, cover me!"

"Barrier up!"

They broke out and began charging, matching the girls' own charge in a massive clash. As they attacked, Kal ran through the line, Jacob protecting him with a barrier. They got over and Kal grabbed one of the potato cannons he disabled earlier. Dodging fire from both sides and quickly fixing it in the heat of battle, he got close enough and held the cannon at his hips.

"Now, do it now!"

Kal took aim, "Say hello to my little friend!"

He fired, and with a lightning response, the gun was gone, all its rubber bands flew out in every direction. Jacob ran over to him and they watched the Girl Scouts retreat.

"We… we did it–"

In the commotion, Trish's squad charged at them one last time, distracting the rest of the Boy Scouts. Trish herself, ruler in hand, charged at Kal. Jacob stepped forward to stop her. They engaged in hand-to hand-combat before she gained the upper hand. First with a quick slap across his face as she twisted back, then a solid punch going the other way across his face.

She pushed Jacob out of the way and turned to Kal, her ruler out.

"I gave you quarter. I showed you mercy! But now you will pay!"

"You're crazy!"

"And you're handsome! But it won't save you today!"

As she began to swing, there was a loud hoot. All of a sudden, the rock owl with a blue ribbon around its neck came swooping down and began to attack Trish, flapping its wings as it clawed her face. She panicked and ran about, trying to get the owl out of her face. Finally, she got it off, but her squad and her troop scouts were retreating altogether.

"This isn't over! Tell Dewy all of New Haestrom will belong to the Girl Scouts!"

She ran off and boarded the motor cart as they left the fort. All the boys walked over, confirming for themselves that they had actually driven the girls and saved the fort. As Mil walked over to them, the owl landed on top of Kal's head.

Kal looked up, "Hey, the Turian looking bird did come back!"

Mil walked up to Kal. He first he socked him in the stomach, and then hugged him.

"You saved us! You saved the fort and your fellow boys!"

Kal moaned, grasping his stomach, "Yah, you're welcome."

"I was wrong about you."

"You did shoot at us."

Mil chuckled a bit, then sighed as he rubbed his headband, "Oh yah, that. Well," he confessed, his tone much more apologetic, "This is my first assignment. Dewy formed the local Boy Scouts here and he recruited me when I moved to New Rayya. With this being my first assignment, and with a command no less, I couldn't let Dewy down. And you saw those girls! This is war. And they are way better equipped and trained than we are."

"Well, it's a good thing my dad taught me some Marine tactics."

"Happily: The way you hijacked my over-mount cannon, and when you fired a cannon all by yourself and took out that machine gun. That was pretty badass."

Kal chuckled, "Yah, I guess it was. Like the stories of my grandfather, Captain Reegar."

Mil focused on that last word, not hearing his full sentence, "Wait, you're a Reegar? Keelah, I shouldn't be surprised. You said you're the grandson of Captain Reegar?"

"Yup! The famous Faunz'Reegar Vas Iktomi!"

"Faunz'Reegar?" His excitement died down, "I must have misheard. I thought you said Captain Jazlin'Reegar Vas Deferens?"

Jacob turned to Kal, "Who's that?"

Kal sighed, "My great aunt. Mil must be from the part of the Fleet that idolizes her instead."

"Don't get me wrong," said Mil, "Kal's grandfather is famous, but Jazlin'Reegar had her own legend. So, who are you?"

Jacob answered with pride, "I'm Jacob Taylor! The grandson of Commodore Taylor!"

They all stared at him, a bit confused, but more so unimpressed.

"Taylor. You know, the captain of the _Homestead_? Who discovered your race and offered you membership onto the Federation? Who liberated Ilium from slavers?"

"Uh… right," answered Mil.

"Oh, screw you, too!"

"I mean your biotics were very impressive."

Jacob crossed his arms and continued pouting and grumbling.

Kal spoke, "Don't worry about him. He just wants attention."

* * *

"Such a lovely house."

The Zorahs stood on what was the now the front lawn of their new home. The LOKI mechs were finishing up the outside, installing gutters and painting the outside. The house was a two-story building, following a classic mid-21st century design of a hybrid of 1950s Americana and 2130s Europa architecture with modern building material. One LOKI mech even placed a lawn ornament of a pink bird with long legs.

"What's with the pink thing?" asked Rael.

"We call it a flamingo. Real popular on old Terra," replied Yeong. "Oh, that reminds me." She turned to Tali, "One of the luxury provisions for the colonization act here is that we provide a pet to all families with a child."

"A pet?"

"Just the small ones. I had to make it clear we do not have varrens, dogs, or cats. Just small mammals like guinea pigs, chinchillas, and rats. Hehe, a suit rat with a pet rat."

"That's not funny," said Rael.

"Who's the powerful AI here? Me! Now then… uh, there's also space hamsters and…"

The name caught Tali's interest, "Space Hamster?"

"A technicality, they're an Earth pet just born in space. I have some in the back, if you'd like to see one. The department sent me these new breeds, Giant Roborovski Dwarf Hamsters."

She turned to Rael and tugged on his suit, "Could I, Father?"

"Okay, okay, Tali."

Yeong walked back to her car and grabbed a plastic ball and a cage full of supplies from the back seat. She walked back and placed the cage down, then knelt down to give her the ball. Tali held her hands out and took the plastic ball, seeing a small, fourteen centimeter fury rodent inside. It was asleep and she leaned her mask in to see it, fascinated.

"Ooh…"

It woke up and Tali quickly pulled her head back, startled. As it scratched itself with its tiny hands, looking around its environment, Tali leaned in closer to it. She could feel it as it ran around in the plastic ball. The hamster then turned to her and gave her a confused look, tiling its head as it stood up and leaned towards her. It made soft and high pitch squeaks.

"Keelah… it's so cute! Father, Mother can I have it? Please?"

"What do you think, Yulia?"

She giggled, "I think it's a cute little pet for her."

"I think that settles it."

"Yay! Now, what to name you…" She stared at the hamster, looking hard as she thought about a name. The hamster simply sat there, waiting for an answer as it looked at Tali's white eyes with its big black ones, "I know! Mother, what was the name of Admiral Ghirn's combat drone she used when she was young?"

"I remember seeing a vid once. What was it…? Ch… Chikttika?"

"That's it," said Rael, "She got it from the _Paus_ , I believe. One of my research vessels."

"That's it then!" she exclaimed before turning back to the hamster, "You are now Chikttika Vas Paus!"

The hamster squeaked happily.

"Squeak!"

* * *

"So, how did you get stuck with these losers, Gam?" asked Kal.

While the rest of the boys held the fort, a few of them began heading back to the new neighborhood, awaiting the reinforcements from New Rayya. They all sat in a large cart, Gam the Elcor pulled it behind him they traveled down the main road.

"Proudly: I am the son of the Elcor ambassador for the Quarians, stationed in New Rayya. Mil and Dewy persuaded me to join their group."

"With a cannon on your back, you're literally a walking tank," said Jacob.

"Sternly: Most Elcor don't like having weapons mounted on them. They think it's a dishonor. But I think it makes me look like a badass."

The owl, still on Kal's head, began flapping its wings and hooting a bit.

"The owl agrees."

After a few more minutes, they arrived back at Kal's new house. He looked on at it, amazed at the new house that wasn't there a few hours ago.

"Whoa!"

* * *

"The United Family Act?"

"Yes…"

The four of them were inside the new living room as the mechs finished up construction. One walked over to the front door and extended its body upward, carrying a drill and four portraits. It began drilling four screws above the door and hung the portraits on them. Three of them were in a row just above the doorframe. The one in the middle was of President Jonathan Bowman, with the tag line on his portrait that said, 'Our President of Exploration', flanked on the left by Councilor Anita Goyle, 'Our Councilor of the Galaxy' and on the right Speaker of the House Miguel Guzman, 'Our Speaker of the People'. The fourth portrait went above Bowman's and was of Head Founder Thomas Anderson, with the additional tagline on his portrait saying, 'Our Grand Founder'.

"Yes, so when the Quarians entered the Federation, several clauses of the standing Species Preservation Act came into effect."

"What's that?" asked Nelis.

"To safeguard Humanity's evolutionary future in the wake of unity, this bill was created to dictate the preservation and physical digression of Humanity. It was worded however, given that we knew there could be life on other worlds, to include any sentient alien race that was a citizen of the Federation," replied Yeong.

"So, this 'United Family Act' is just a formalization of a measure from the Act?"

She nodded, "Yes, for legal and budgetary reasons. Under this act, the government and the DIA considers your race, the Quarians, to be… an 'endangered species'. While Humanity has thirty billion and the Batarians have nine billion, you only have seventeen million. That's very low for a post-industrial, space faring race."

Donn spoke, "So to fix this, the Act requires me and Nelis to have more children?"

"Four more, to be exact. Five in total," she said with enthusiasm, one the Reegars did not share, "That's why this house has five bedrooms. For all the little babies you'll have running around the house. It'll be so adorable!"

"Most families only have one child and are lucky to have a second," said Nelis warily.

"And now you'll have at least five! All in service to the Federation."

The two turned to her, "We don't want more children."

Yeong answered, trying to persuade them, "Did I mention you'll get large tax incentives for each kid?"

"Does it matter?"

She spoke again, with the same enthusiasm, though what she said next was less encouraging and more threatening, "Did I also mention that if you don't produce a child within a certain time frame, you'll both be arrested for treason against the state?"

Taylor turned to Yeong, "They could be arrested?!"

"Don't act surprised, Commodore. It's the same for humans who have more than one child on Earth. I assure you all, this is for the good of every race in the Federation."

"Donn, we need to talk to Admiral Koris about this. This is outrageous! They're trying to breed us!" exclaimed Nelis.

"I don't see the problem. Before your race's exile, Quarians were known for their large family clans. And with a gestation period of four months, you can pop them out in two years easy!"

They all turned and looked at the AI, bewildered at what she had said. This time, the AI noticed, and decided to back track. The other families she had talked to weren't that angry with her over the different measures of the Species Preservation Act. Though she hadn't said it as directly to them as she had the Reegars.

"Uh… tax rebates!"

From the empty front door, Kal and Jacob came in, looking around as the LOKI mechs finished up.

"Is this our new home?" asked Kal as he walked up to them.

"It sure is, Kal. Our new house!" said Donn, trying to divert the subject.

"And you're also going to be a big brother!" said Yeong cheerily, only to be met by a harsh glare from both parents.

"Ah!" Kal's eyes grew larger, two large white dots outside his mask as he was frightened by the thought.

Jacob laughed and turned to Donn, "Dang, Mr. Reegar. You and the missus already did it? You Quarians get down fast!"

Taylor slapped Jacob in the back of the head, "That's not an appropriate thing to say, Jacob!"

Donn turned to Yeong, "Will you mute yourself?" He then noticed that Kal's suit was dirty, and there was a sleeping bird on his head. "And why is your suit all dirty? And what is this bird on your head?"

Yeong turned to him, "See, the owl came back! Speaking of which, your son here is entitled to a pet."

"Really?!" asked Kal.

Jacob turned to him, "A dog. Easy. I had one when I was younger."

"Well, it has to be a small mammal. Oh, how about a hamster? Almost everyone in your neighborhood got one."

A second Yeong walked in, carrying a small plastic ball with a hamster in it. Kal took it and looked at it. The hamster looked up at him with eagerness. But Kal looked at it, disgusted.

"This? This is stupid. I don't want a bubble rat as a pet, or as a sibling!"

The hamster squeaked in disappointment. The rock owl then woke up and noticed the hamster with its sharp eyes. It began squawking about as it flailed its wings, startling the hamster. The second Yeong then took the hamster away and quickly left.

Kal looked up at his head, "Awesome!"

The first Yeong sighed, "Those dang owls."

Kal turned to her, "Can I have the owl instead. It's way cooler!"

"Hmmm. We were supposed to release them. New Haestrom isn't as biologically diverse as we thought, so we are releasing animals like these. Though Amaterasu is a levo world, this owl is dextro based."

"Please? I promise to be nice to my new bubble rat, uh, I mean sibling."

"Come on, Ms. Yeong. Give us that at least," asked Donn.

"Oh fine. You can have the owl."

"Awesome! Now what to call you…" He turned to Nelis, "Mom, what's the name of that Turian that tried to kill Auntie Miri when she was young?"

Nelis responded, confused, "Admiral Marcus Junius. Are you sure that's a good…?"

"Perfect!" He looked up at the top of his helmet, "You are now Admiral Marcus Junius!"

The owl simply nodded and hooted.

"Hoot."

Kal held his arm out, signaling the owl to fly over and nest on his arm. Instead, the owl suddenly became aggressive and attacked Ms. Yeong. The AI began panicking as she tried to swat the Turian-looking bird off, bumping into mechs as she tried to shake it.

Donn placed his arms around Kal and Nelis as they looked at the AI being attacked by an owl in their new home. He sighed with relief.

"We are truly home now."

* * *

As Mil and the others waited outside, an off-road motor cart came down the other side of the road towards them. It was modded into a truck with a carriage in the back. It was full of Boy Scouts from New Rayya.

As Mil stood up from their cart, the leader of their reinforcements greeted them.

"Commander Mil!" he said, saluting him.

"Lieutenant Bruce." Mil saluted back, "Are these my reinforcements?"

"Yes, sir. Dewy got your message. That must have been a heck of a fight. But he sends his congratulations for holding the frontier. We have the equipment needed to make sure we hold it for good."

"That's great."

"And Gam."

"Seriously: Yes?"

"Your dad back at the embassy is looking for you. I think you're in trouble."

"Lamely: Oh man…"

Tali overheard the commotion and turned around. She noticed the truck of scouts in front of her house. She was right across the street from the Reegars. She walked up to them, holding on to Chikttika's ball.

"Who are you?" she asked.

One of them turned around and peered over the railing, "Why we, ma'am, are the elite Boy Scouts of New Haestrom. We are the protectors of this region, an army of liberators!"

"An army?" She looked at them, confused, "Shouldn't scouts be doing camping trips or tying ropes?"

"Please. We boys get to do all the fun stuff. Now go run along like a girl."

As they all laughed, Tali became angry. She opened her hamster ball and placed the furry creature in her hands. None of them were looking as she whispered to it,

"Go for the optics, Chikttika…" She then tossed her hamster up in the air over to them, yelling out, "Go for the optics!"

They turned around, seeing the hamster fly at them, squeaking with rage and fury. As Tali watched, all the boys in the truck began running and struggling about as the hamster jumped back and forth, clawing at their faces with its cute little claws.

"My eyes! My special eyes!"

"Command, we're under attack!"

"Meep!"

"Squeak!"

And all the while, Tali stood there, staring up at them as the hamster attacked them. She giggled to herself with devilish delight at the sight.

"Good girl!"

* * *

As Ms. Yeong ran out of the house, still being attacked by the owl, the Reegars and Taylors walked out and headed back to the shuttle. The Reegars were staying, and another shuttle was coming by with prefab furniture from IKEA, whom had won the furnishing contract for the entire planet. But as the _Homestead_ 's shuttle waited, the Taylors were heading back.

"So when are we heading back to Earth?" asked Jacob.

"Earth? My ship is set for at least a month's worth of exploration along the Terminus border," replied Taylor.

"But how am I supposed to get back to Earth? School's about to start."

Taylor turned to him as they waited in front of the shuttle, "Jacob. Do you even know where your dad is?"

Jacob thought about it, "Uh… no. Do you, Grandpa?"

"I don't either, Jacob. And I have no intention of sending you back to Earth alone."

"Wait, so…"

Taylor smiled, "You're coming with me, boy. Exploring the galaxy with your old grandpa."

Jacob smiled, "Awesome!"

Donn walked up to him, "Heading out, Commodore?"

Taylor nodded, looking back at the new house, "We're a young race, still heading out into the galaxy. But for you, I think this is a best a time as any to just settle down."

"You humans have a saying," said Nelis as she stood beside her husband, "Home is where the heart is."

"But it's good to be able to stand on it," replied Taylor as he surveyed the land that now belonged to the Quarians, "Now then, Jacob."

"Yes, Grandpa?"

"Say your goodbyes. We need to be off. There are reports of a star that recently went nova a few dozen light years from here."

"Stars blowing up? Count me in. Bye Mr. and Mrs. Reegar!"

"Bye Jacob," said Nelis as Donn nodded to him.

"Bye Kal. You have my gamer tag on FOG, right?"

"DePriz026, right? Remember, mine is ADMWIN1. Later!"

They climbed on board and waved goodbye as the shuttle activated its engine. The hatch shut and they began their climb up towards the evening sky. The three Quarians looked up as it grew smaller until it finally disappeared. When it was gone, Donn placed his arms around them and they headed back in. All the while, Ms. Yeong was rolling on the lawn as Junius attacked her while her other projections tried to get the bird off.

* * *

Posted on August 1, 2017 - Beta-read by MoonSword1994


	3. 3: For the Holidays

**Chapter 3:  
For there's no place like the Home World for the Holidays!**

* * *

 **FSS Homestead  
December 14, 2167**

"That's it, class! Recess!"

The children got out of their seats and scattered about the classroom. It was the last day before winter break on board the _Homestead_ and the students could not be happier. Some were playing with the toys and computers in the room for their hour of recreation, or eating the lunches they brought from their quarters. Others were completing their assignments, ranging from the human curriculum of basic multiplication and division, which was in use for the children of the Turians and Batarians on board, to the Quarian curriculum which had been scaled back from basic calculus to level 2 algebra.

Others were completing their holiday projects, little gifts for their parents for Christmas week. Some had drawn themed pictures, others had made clay models, and even a few had sewn slightly lopsided stockings. Most of the finished projects were placed around the room, decorating it for the holidays before they go home.

Jacob sat in his seat at the front of the room. In front of him was a massive drawing he was working on. It buried several unfinished math and history assignments. He sat there, focused on his drawing as he switched between the numerous scattered colored pencils on his table. Beside the drawing were printed-out pictures of his parents and grandfather.

The drawing itself was a colored pencil creation of those images. Each image was from their official pictures from the Army, Merchant Navy, and Navy, respectively. His mother, Lydia Taylor, was dressed in her Army blues, the Army's Star and branch emblem was in the background. His father, Ronald Taylor, was dressed in his Private's formal clothing with the Terran Flag was in the background. His grandfather, Richard Taylor, was in his Commodore's uniform and the Terran Navy emblem was behind him.

The teacher, Ensign Levine, walked over to him and looked over his shoulder, "That's a nice drawing, Jacob. The Commodore is sure to love it."

"Thanks, Mr. Levine."

"Is that your mother and father?" he asked as he looked at the pictures.

"Yah! Mom's a soldier in the Big Red One on Eden Prime. Dad's an officer in the Merchant Navy. They, uh, aren't always home. But I have Grandpa here. So, it's okay."

Levine nodded, noting the rather common situation of serving parents away from home, "Be sure to send a copy of your picture to them. I'm sure they would love to see it."

He walked away, heading to his desk. There was a comm message waiting for him, blinking on his computer. He turned away from the classroom as he answered.

Jacob continued drawing. He had held the paper over the image earlier, using his kinetics to light up the back, allowing him to trace their lines with the pencil. Jacob was set on this one drawing over everything else. He wanted to give something to them. He felt it was right.

Across the room, there was a Quarian girl sitting quietly at her desk. She had a pink hood and a pink scarf, a rather masculine color for a Quarian girl. She inserted a nutrient paste tube into her mouthpiece port. It was flavored after a Turian animal, a pecus, a large beast on Palaven raised for its meat and milk, their closest equivalent to the Terran cow. Much of the trade deals with the Hierarchy were designed to get ahold of such livestock for their dextro citizens. The girl was drinking a chocolate version of its milk with an emergency induction port.

As she sat there three other kids, all human, walked up to her staring her down.

"Hey, rat!"

"Uh, excuse me?" she asked as they surrounded her.

"Don't act dumb! Our homework. Did you finish it?" asked a human girl.

"I, uh. It's due after lunch. I'll have it to you then…"

Their leader, a boy, knocked her drink and paste tube out of her hands.

"Meep!" she cried out, startled by the aggression.

Hearing the noise, Jacob looked up.

"We want our homework done, now!" said the other boy.

"We don't care what you're doing, you rat!" The girl shoved a few tablets and papers at the Quarian girl, "Just do what we say!"

"And you better! Because it sure would be a damn shame if we held you down and popped open that little facemask of yours!"

Their leader felt a tap behind him. He turned around, the others joining him to see what it was and there stood Jacob.

"Leave her alone!"

They looked at him for a moment, then they started laughing. They were a grade higher than him and a few centimeters taller as well. But though they towered over him, Jacob was not afraid. He had fought against an army of kids better armed than these three thugs.

"Looks like the kinetic freak has a soft spot for rats!"

One of them spoke mockingly, "Oh, is he going to stop us with his magic powers?"

The Leader pushed his shoulder, "This freak of nature is no match for us. Scram before we really try to hurt ya!"

"Don't mess with me!" He activated his kinetics, a slight blue tinted aura of mass effect fields covered him. "I said, leave her alone!"

The Leader turned back to his gang. "Can you believe this guy?"

As he turned back, he quickly threw a low punch at Jacob, landing a solid blow to his stomach. Jacob was thrown back a couple of meters, clinching all the while as he landed on the floor.

There was a thud as he hit the ground. This time, the teacher heard it and quickly looked up to see what was happening.

"Hey! What's going on here…?"

Jacob quickly got back up, a full kinetic shroud over him. As the teacher walked over to them, Jacob let out a kinetic lash, one that radiated across the room. Ensign Levine and some students behind him were knocked down to the floor. So were the three bullies.

As their leader tried to get back up, Jacob ran up and jumped on top of him. He raised his fist, fully engulfed with the fury of his kinetics, then he struck down, yelling at the top of his lungs. In a mad kinetic frenzy, he struck the bully's face with one punch after the other.

* * *

 **FSS Qwib-Qwib  
A Few Hours Later**

"Look. You have to understand…"

"I don't care, ma'am. His grandson attacked my son!"

"He and his friends were bullying a Quarian, he's facing his own trouble."

"And that makes it right for some kinetic to nearly kill my son? That kid sent my son to the sickbay!"

"Look, Lieutenant Commander. This is a very, _very_ delicate issue for everyone involved, and one that goes straight up to Fleet Admiral Valenzuela herself!"

The situation had escalated quickly after the incident on the _Homestead_. This otherwise minor altercation between kids had unanticipated consequences that got it far more attention than usual from up the chain of command. It was to the point where an admiral had to be involved to resolve the matter. The newly retrofitted battle cruiser _Qwib-Qwib_ , on trials near the Terminus border with the Fourth Fleet before being transferred to the Sixth, was called in as the closest ship to the _Homestead_.

Commodore Taylor and Jacob sat in a waiting area outside the office of Rear Admiral Makajima. Around the corner, she was talking to the father of the leader of the bullies. Squashing anti-alien sentiment this early in development was one of the top priorities across the Federation, with backing from a newly Nationalist Congress and the Department of Internal Affairs. Now there was another issue, an old problem the still newly spacefaring Humanity was now facing.

Taylor sat there frustrated as he rested his head in his hands, his arms leaning on his knees. Jacob sat there, quiet with his hands in his lap.

Makajima walked backed in, heading to her office door.

"Commodore, I need to speak with you in private."

"Private?" he repeated as he sat up.

"This is official business. Jacob can wait here. My synths will watch him."

He nodded and followed her in. Jacob watched, the door sliding open with their signature whoosh, and then closing with that same sound.

* * *

"This… is a very delicate matter," she said as they sat down in her office.

Taylor sat back in his seat, "It must be, Tracy. They wouldn't bring you all the way here just for a fight between elementary students."

"It's unfortunate that it isn't just that. The report got flagged and sent from the Navy to the DIA. What they saw was worth ordering the Navy to send a barely finished ship three clusters away here."

"Koris' ship is serving well?" he asked to defuse the mood or distract her for a few moments.

She smiled, "My chief engineer couldn't stop drooling when he got his hands on it, Richard. A three-hundred-year-old ship and the ME tech is millennia ahead of ours. Just needed a new coat of paint and some finishing."

"That's good… why did this have to involve the DIA?"

"Well, the bullying is quite minor actually. Kids will be kids. Enough hours of education and a slap on the head would set them straight. But what has Command and the DIA in a shock is Jacob."

"Jacob? What did he do?"

She sat up, "He used his kinetics."

"And that's a crime?"

"You know as well as I do that isn't the problem. The problem is, that as he grows older, his powers will get stronger. And well…"

"Well what?" Taylor asked as he sat up and leaned towards her.

"The SPA, Commodore. Jacob has a gift. And we should be thankful that, unlike many other races in the galaxy, we saw the potential of kinetics early…"

"The fact he's one means nothing. He is my grandson, first and foremost!"

"And I'm not disputing that. By all means, it's that fact that manners. You are in position to dictate his future."

* * *

Jacob sat there, growing disgruntled with the long wait. Waiting in front of an office of some superior felt no different than school back on Earth. But this time he knew he did the right thing. He felt a bit bad that his grandfather seemed to be the one in trouble. ' _Better Grandpa than me_ ', he thought with a grin.

He wondered what they were talking about, and what could prompt an admiral to be involved. ' _I did beat up that kid pretty good,'_ Jacob smiled with some pride over that.

Around the corner, a head popped out. It was helmeted with a pink hood and scarf around the neck. Jacob noticed and turned to look at it. It was the Quarian girl he had saved earlier.

"Hm?"

She was startled for a moment, realizing she had been discovered. Too late to hide, she waved at him as she continued to peer from around the corner, "Uh… hi."

"Hey," Jacob was otherwise not focused on her.

She walked around and slowly approached him. She was shy all the while, her head down, her hands behind her as she rubbed one foot with the other.

"I… I-I wanted to thank you."

He turned to her, "Oh, yeah, it's not a problem."

"But, uh, are you in trouble?" she asked as she finally turned her head to look at him.

"Me? Nah… well, maybe." He shrugged his shoulders and grinned, "But it's not the first time."

She took a seat, hoisting herself up and turned to him, "Is it because you're a biotic? Because some people in the galaxy still fear them."

"Well… I guess. Mom once told me I am part of a new generation of kinetic humans. She said I was special. But I haven't met or seen many others, even other kids."

The Quarian girl paused to think, "You know, you remind me of my great-uncle. He was a biotic… uh, kinetic. What you did, it was as fearless as the stories my grandma told me about him. You're a hero."

He chuckled, cheered up a bit, "Well, I guess it does make me fearless at least."

"Oh right! M-my name is Jazlin by the way." She turned and stared at him, blushing as she moved her mask closer, "And you're my hero…"

Jacob looked at her, confused and none the wiser, "Uh, okay, the name's Jacob. I think my grandpa, I mean the Commodore, is talking about me with Admiral Makajima."

She thought about that. Then, she came up with a way to show her appreciation, and affection to him. "Do you want to listen in on them?"

"How?" he asked.

She giggled, her mouthpiece flashed a pinkish color, "Easy."

She got off her seat and walked over to the control panel. She tried reaching it, but it stood a meter above her. Seeing her fruitless effort to reach it, Jacob got up. Thinking quickly, he readied his kinetics and slowly lifted her. Startled for a moment, she nodded at him and began working.

Almost immediately, an AI spoke out, displaying his face on the screen. But with seemingly effortless typing, she managed to disable the AI and gain access to the room and its security system inside.

"Wow, you hacked the synths?"

She smiled behind her mask, "Please. Our Geth have better security systems than that."

And with a press, she was in. He placed her down and they both stared at the console. On it was a security feed of the two officers.

* * *

"Take him away?!"

"Listen, Richard. He won't be nurturing his skills growing up on a starship."

"He is my grandson! I won't let them take him from me!"

"You would be able to see and communicate with him as you see fit wherever he goes. As a kinetic, he would have access to the finest education and training facilities in the galaxy, all at the government's expense. Think about it: the Kinetic Academy at Cal State, the Institute of Higher Learning in New York, the School of Humanities on Pacifica, and the Bowman Academy over Terra Nova."

"He deserves a regular life. Not some program where they see him as an asset rather than a person!"

"Don't deny him this opportunity! You are a military commander of an exploration ship, constantly moving across the galaxy. Your ship would never have the materials, specialists, or knowledge to train him."

"And what if this was your grandchild? Riku, Ayane, Kasumi? Would you send them away?"

She slammed her hands on her desk, "Commodore Taylor, that was out of line!"

"I'm…" He sat back down, taking a deep breath, "I'm sorry, Tracy. I shouldn't have said that."

"I understand you're frustrated. I would be, too." She gave him an understanding smile, "But you are not on some first assignment as a second lieutenant. You have not just a whole ship, but also your own squadron to command. You are a Naval officer, not a stationary civilian. And I can assure you, raising a child takes more effort than that."

"I… I can't leave him alone. I messed up with Ronald. I won't let Jacob go. Even if it means the alternative."

* * *

"Your grandpa really cares about you," said Jazlin.

Jacob sighed, "He sure does…"

"What's wrong?"

He turned away from the console, "I mean… I want to be with him. But I don't want to be a burden."

"If he is willing to fight for you, you matter more to him than anything else."

* * *

"Jacob can have a fulfilling life if we act. We don't just have the best of man, but the galaxy! We have the Asari! An entire race of kinetics."

"What of them?" Taylor slouched in his seat. The idea of sending Jacob away brought back a lot of regrettable memories. The idea of giving up his commission was a personally cringing one.

"Since we are trying to solidify relations with them, they extended an offer. A Council cross-species training and military unit where potential kinetics can train and fight alongside skilled Asari commandos."

"Commandos?"

Makajima chuckled, "They're elite warriors. 'Huntress', they call themselves. Each Asari commando has literally hundreds of years of experience. And I heard they are looking for human candidates. The 'Butcher' himself revolutionized kinetic tactics with his 'vanguard' skills. Imagine the potential Jacob could unleash from within."

"Train with the Asari… he'd get in a day what we've been trying to learn the entire century," he said, idly thinking over the idea.

"It's an option."

"But I have to choose? God, I mean… what would he want?"

"He could have anything he wants, really. He represents the future of Humanity. Kinetics are the future of Humanity, Richard. Jacob could be one of the few who could lead that future." Majakima sat back in her chair and sighed, "But the future waits for no man."

"I see… Christ."

"I'm sorry, Richard."

"I… I guess it's for the best. If I couldn't raise my own son, what hope do I have of raising Jacob?"

* * *

"Open the door!" he said, gasping for air as he began to tear up.

"What?"

"Open it!"

Jazlin turned to the console and jumped up to press one of the commands she rigged on the console. The door opened, startling the two officers. Jacob ran in and they stood up, confused. Taylor looked at him as he ran up and hugged him, grasping tightly as he cried out,

"Grandpa!"

"Jacob?"

He held on for dear life, "Don't send me away, Grandpa! I don't want to be some kinetic vanguard or biotic commando. I just want to be with you!"

"Jacob…" He knelt down and gave his grandson a hug, patting his back.

Jacob rested his head on Taylor's shoulder, still crying. After a few seconds of letting Jacob calm down, Taylor pulled back and looked him in the eyes.

"I won't let anyone, _anyone_ , take you away from me. Do you understand, Jacob?"

He nodded as he wiped his tears, "Yes, Grandpa."

Taylor smiled, "Good. Now look... You heard most of that, didn't you? Well, you have a bright future ahead of you and I won't let you waste that. You understand your gift, right?"

Jacob nodded, speaking softly, "Yes."

"But whatever you want to do, wherever you want to go, I will be there."

Jacob hugged him again, "I love you, Grandpa."

"I love you, too, Jacob." He turned his eyes over to the Quarian looking over from the door, curious of what she was doing. "It seems we have an infiltrator."

"Meep!"

Jazlin quickly ran away and scurried into the halls of the _Qwib-Qwib_. He chuckled as he stood up, smiling as he looked at Jacob; he then nodded to him and turned to Makajima.

"Well, Admiral. I guess we'd better be off. We have some things to discuss."

She walked around her desk and over to Jacob, "Young man, you have a very bright and fascinating future ahead of you. Don't feel pressured. You'll know what to do in the end." She turned to Taylor, "Your grandson is truly gifted, and I hope you consider his future. Until then, I'll leave it up to you two."

Jacob looked up to her and nodded, "Yes, Admiral."

She smiled, "Good. Now, everything else has been resolved. My ship needs to return to Ontarom for maintenance. I hope to see you two again. On ideal terms, that is."

Taylor slid into position and saluted her, Jacob looked over to him before quickly doing the same.

"Of course, ma'am."

She saluted back, "Dismissed."

* * *

Taylor grabbed Jacob's hand and they walked out of her office. They began making their way to the shuttle bay to take one back to the _Homestead_.

"Am I still in trouble?"

He grinned and shook his head, "What do you think?"

Jacob frowned, "That's a 'yes' then."

Taylor chuckled, "You're cleaning our quarters for the next month… But I'll won't tell your parents, deal?"

"Deal!" he said, smiling back to him.

As they walked down the hallway, Jazlin appeared next to Jacob. "Oh, hi Jacob. Heading back to the _Homestead_?"

"Yup, you need a ride?"

She looked at him with surprise, "Oh, actually, my parents told me they've just been reassigned to a Naval base on New Haestrom. We'll be riding on our old ship here as passage."

"New Haestrom?" asked Taylor.

"It's nice, we have relatives there from my great uncle's side of the family. Might visit them for, what was it… the 'Christmas' holiday?"

Jacob turned to her, more interested, "That's cool. I have friends there." He thumped his chest, "Don't mean to brag, but I was the first to form a friendship between a member of my race and yours."

She leaned in closer to him, "Wow! A diplomat and a hero."

"Yup!" he replied with confidence, his grandfather chucked under his breath.

They entered the shuttle bay, one shuttle was ready to depart, and a few had recently arrived. Jazlin saw her mother and waved, she was moving their things to the _Qwib-Qwib_ , which was headed to Ontarom before New Haestrom. They walked over to the shuttle being readied to depart.

"Grandpa, where are you taking the _Homestead_ for Christmas?"

Taylor looked to him. No matter what he did, he couldn't hold on to his grandson forever. Looking down on his young brown face, he saw someone else staring back at him in anticipation. He didn't want to make the same mistake. He couldn't make a decision like before. He was an old man now, and he felt things needed to got differently.

"I… I don't know."

He looked around at the shuttle bay, the ship, the sight of his own ship, and his life in the Navy for the past thirty years. He felt one lifetime had gone by. One he should have been there for. Looking at Jacob, maybe he could make the next one matter. Though the idea scared him as much as the future did Jacob.

Taylor turned from the open shuttle bay to the stars, "We can go to the stars… Go beyond." He then turned back to Jacob, "But I do have a large chunk of shore leave saved up, and well, there's no rule against blowing it all in one go."

"Where do you want to go then, Grandpa?"

Taylor wanted a place where Jacob had friends and people who cared for him. The Commodore had lived in the stars for so long, always moving. Those he did know moved as well. He did know of one place where his grandson was happy. If only it were possible. At least he should be happy for the holidays. Next year, things would be different. But a small reprieve from reality was what he needed most.

"It's the holidays! We should be spending time with family and friends… well, friends work just fine."

"Friends?"

Taylor leaned into the shuttle and pressed the comm system next to the hatch. " _Homestead_!"

The AI Jackson responded, "Yes, sir?"

"Do we have any assignments for this sector?"

The AI promptly responded, "No, sir. We have mission prerogative from Command."

"Then our mission…" He smiled, "is to go home for the holidays. What's the nearest home world?"

"New Haestrom, the current home world for the Quarians, is two relay jumps away."

"Then set course and depart upon my boarding, maximum warp!"

"Uh… Yes, sir."

He climbed on board and reached his hand out for Jacob. Jazlin watched all the while.

"We're really going to New Haestrom?" Jacob asked with eager anticipation.

"We are."

"Awesome! I better call Kal. He'll be so psyched!"

Jazlin quickly turned to Jacob as the shuttle's engine turned on with a loud roar. She recognized the name, "Kal?"

The door of the shuttle began to slide closed, forcing her to step back to the safety line as then engines fully turned on. Jacob waved to her as the hatch closed, "Bye, Jazlin!"

The bay doors opened and the shuttle took off, entering the void. Jazlin looked out, seeing the _Homestead_ a few kilometers away.

"Kal… Kal'Reegar?"

Across the shuttle bay, a woman appeared pushing a wheelchair with an elderly Quarian woman occupying it, "Jazlin! Help your grandmother to her quarters!"

"What? Oh, yes Mother!"

A Quarian lieutenant walked over to Jazlin's mother and grandmother. He saluted the two, "Commander Reegar. Captain Reegar. Welcome back to the _Qwib-Qwib_. I hope you enjoy the renovations. She'll be the finest ship in the Sixth Fleet."

* * *

"Minamoto?"

The AI finally reset and reconnected to her office from his computer server.

The speakers opened with static before he was able to speak, breathing heavily from shock, "What? What happened… ah, damn it!"

"Hacked by a child. That's just sad."

The AI grumbled, "Those Quarians are damn masters at exploits. I'm still waiting for a patch from Command. This is getting tiresome." He groaned afterwards, "I think she disabled by facial routines."

She giggled, "You'd better head to IT and fix that."

"Right, ma'am."

Alone in her office, she sat there and wondered what she could do to help them. While she didn't want to split them up, she knew it wasn't possible for Taylor to raise Jacob; a career officer couldn't simply give it up, it would do neither of them any good. She needed a way to placate them. After a moment, she had an idea. As a friend to the Commodore, she'd call in a favor.

She opened her long-range comms, linking to Eden Prime by QEC, then hyperspace comm sats. After a minute of waiting, her call was pushed through on a high priority staff officer channel. An aged man with a scar on his face appeared on her computer.

"This is General Williams, Shanxi Command, Third Army."

"Ed."

"Well I be damned. Tracy?" He chuckled, "I haven't seen you in a while. What can I do for you?"

"I'll have to cut the pleasantries short. I'm calling in a favor."

"From a friend, the general of the Third Army, or the head of Military Intelligence?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Is there another option?"

They stared at each other for a moment. Then they both burst out laughing. She really didn't know what else Williams was, she was just teasing. And he wasn't dumb enough to expose himself.

He clasped his hands and nodded, "So, what do you need, Tracy?"

"The Army and Navy are planning military bases for New Haestrom, correct?"

Williams nodded, "Yes. Including extensions of the military academies and resource deployment. Ontarom's falling moon is a scientific fascination!"

"And those academic resources include supplementation for schools for kinetic children?" asked Makajima.

"Well, yes, I suppose. Many parents prefer to have their children trained near home. Though the kinetic population is very low among Quarians."

"Well. I need the New Haestrom deployment pushed to the front of the line. Immediate establishment, with kinetic education support."

He looked at her, surprised by the large request, "That's asking a lot, Admiral Makajima."

"And I need a soldier from the 1st Infantry Division, First Army, to be deployed to that base, post haste. Need I remind you who saved your life back in China in '48, General Williams?"

He held his hands up to stop her, "Yes, yes. I forget that you were a Marine." He smiled, "And not a block head, either. You earned that rank." He brought up the New Haestrom planning through his Section 14 database, "I'll see what I can do. But we are even."

"Done."

"So," He sat back and leaned back his chair, "Who is this soldier from Zhao's army?"

"She is… someone close…"

* * *

 **New Rayya City Frontier – New Haestrom  
December 18, 2167**

"There! There! Shoot him!"

"Shut up, Mil. I can see him."

"Come on, Kal. One more minute on the clock!"

Kal and some of his friends were sitting on the floor in his living room. His mother, Nelis, was sitting on the couch resting, watching her son playing with friends of different races. Even after a few months, the idea of a home on solid ground was still an amazing sight. And as she placed her hand on her stomach, it was only better. Almost three months pregnant, the idea of a second child was breathtaking. And to be born on a planet that was theirs was even more astonishing. She looked out the window, snow falling outside as their pet owl Junius quietly slept on his perch. She smiled behind her mask. All of this, it was a miracle.

"A few more seconds…"

The kids sat there watching Kal play on the new gaming console he got for Hanukkah week. On the screen was the multiplayer mode 'operation' for the latest game from Digital Arts, Battlefield: Revival.

"Done! Another win!"

The game zoomed out from his character on screen as the postgame clip played. A voice of a Terran Army general, similar to General Williams, played out as the Terran Militia Army flag was displayed in victory colors.

" _Soldiers of the Grand Militia! We have achieved a great thing here. The heretics have been crushed! With the canal secured, hope now exists to drive those disgraces of the faith from the Holy Land. The fight for freedom lives on. We fight for Terra, our cause, truly a holy one."_

Another voice played, a female voice of the narrator for the game. She began describing the background of the historically correct victory Kal achieved.

" _With the Terran victory by Williams' Army, the Army of the Kingdom of Christian Crusaders failed to make a breakthrough to reinforce their forces in the Holy Land. This allowed Terran forces to hold key areas and evacuate civilians from the area. The victory boosted moral across the other fronts on Earth, with victories by the Army in Russia and South America against Communist and Nazi forces, as well as Marine victories against Rebel forces in North America and Africa. It also resonated across the Sol system, with a victory by Admiral Donnelly over rogue Naval forces near Europa, and the raid over Venus by terrorists responsible for the Martian Fleet yard bombings._

" _It is believed by military historians that if the KCC had captured Suez and made it through, the Christian Fundamentalists would have severely outnumbered Terran, Grand Islamic State, and Jewish Exodus Army forces in their fight for the holy land. This may have even seen an early deployment of the Rapture Defense Satellites and Operation: Lionheart."_

"Let me play next!" said Mil as he wrestled Kal for his game controller.

The doorbell rang, but the kids paid no attention to it. Nelis heard it, however.

"Kal, please get the door," she said as she gingerly began to get up.

"Okay Mom. Mil, sign me out first. I don't want you ruining my record with your noob-ness."

"This game looks easy!"

Kal got up and walked to the door. He opened it only for a chilly wind to blow it all the way open. Junius was awakened by the cold and began hooting before Kal told him to quiet down. On the porch stood two humans, an adult and a child, in regular military jackets.

The boy removed his hood.

"Hey, Kal."

"Jacob!"

They bumped fists and Kal held the door steady as they entered the small foyer. Taylor was carrying two suitcases with him as Jacob rushed to take his coat off. Nelis was already at the foyer by the time the boys ran off to play.

"Commodore Taylor."

"Mrs. Reegar." He placed the suitcases on the ground and gave her a hug, "Thank you so much for letting us stay with you for the holidays."

"Of course. We have plenty of room." She rubbed her stomach, wearing a special suit designed for pregnant Quarian women, "For now, anyway."

He smiled, "Reminds me of Rosalyn when we were having Ronald. When are you expecting?"

"In a month." She felt a pang and cringed a bit. "Just like how Kal was. She is quite active."

"A girl? Congratulations."

They turned to the children. They were gathered around Kal's new console; Jacob was practically drooling when he saw the game. "Oh my god, you got Battlefield: Revival?"

"Yep," said Kal proudly, "Some man working with my dad got me a copy."

"I heard it was banned on Earth for being very 'triggering'," said Jacob.

"You humans are so easily offended," said Mil as his match played out.

"Well… You're a suit rat."

Mil chuckled as he fidgeting around with the remote, "Oh boy, if I knew a word to call you, Jacob, I would."

The two adults laughed as their children played.

Taylor turned back to Nelis, "Kids. No matter what, you always love 'em."

Nelis nodded as she stroked her belly fondly. "I remember back on the _Rayya_ , Donn and I placed our names in the lottery for a second child. Doing so was more of a game than anything meaningful. But now…"

"You're going to have a big family. Where's Donn, anyway?"

"Oh, he's in the kitchen with this business man. He's interested in Donn's idea of starting up his family's old arms company."

Taylor chuckled, "I guess being a farmer is out of the question. Oh, where can we settle down?"

"Upstairs, second room on the left," she said as she pointed up the stairs.

"Thank you, Nelis," He turned to Jacob, "Jacob! Come on now, boy. We need to change out of these clothes then you can play with your friends."

"Okay, Grandpa."

Mil shouted out at the screen, "No, No!... Ah, bosh'tet!"

"You suck, Mil."

He lost the match, and in a rather quick manner as well. Everyone was disappointed and called him out for losing as the un-skippable end game cut scenes played.

" _We did our best, men. We fought hard to get this far. But even with nuclear fire, we have fallen short of our goal. Hannibal himself couldn't reach Rome. And sadly, neither can we. But the Terran Nation will not surrender. One day, they shall be liberated."_

The female narrator then spoke, discussing the potential repercussions of this alternate outcome to the famed March on Rome during the Great Revival.

" _The March on Rome was an important event by Terran forces, its victory marked the Terrans regaining control of most of the Mediterranean Sea and the liberation of the capital of the Orthodox-Catholic Church and Pope Brogan III from the Christian Fundamentalists. With a Crusader victory however, Terran forces would have remained on the defensive in Europe, while remaining forces in the Middle East would remain cut off from supply and aid."_

"Good job, Mil," said Kal as he grabbed his game controller back, "You prazzaed the entire Mediterranean and failed to save the Pope."

He sighed, "Oh man, I couldn't save the Pope…" He then turned to Taylor, "Hey, Commodore. What's a pope?"

* * *

"And so, if you channel the energy flow to this regulator of my design, you can achieve plasma cohesion."

"Now that is amazing." He kept skimming the design, "And the heat regularity flow?"

"Absorbed into the heat sync… here. At the current parameter settings, my disposable sync design can average the equivalent of one hundred phaser burst shots before filling up."

"I see…"

In the kitchen, Donn and his guest were looking at the blueprints for a new rifle he was working on. The schematics were displayed as a projected holo-image on the table. It was a new weapon the Federation had been attempting to create for years, as part of an obsession for weapons straight out of science fiction.

"What if we change this to a large, permanent, quick dispersal heat sync instead?" asked his guest, "HK has access to new syncs that can rapidly disperse heat at three times the rate of Council versions in combat."

"Then we have a problem with the long-term use of the weapon. This Geth tech creates a lot of heat. And the way the sync is designed, if the sync itself isn't disposed, then it could feed back into the mechanism," explained Donn as he pointed at the part.

"But here," his guest said, dragging his finger from the sync to the power supply next to it, "If we switch the power source to a thorium based reactor, residual heat would simply be absorbed from the sync. The more the weapon is fired, the less energy the reactor would generate for internal use since the extra heat would aid in sustaining fission." He then tapped on the table where the sync was, "We can even allow quick change of heat syncs, from those who can't wait for the damn thing to cool even then!"

Donn opened his eyes, amazed, "That's amazing. I didn't think of that… but that would be severely resource constraining," He turned to his guest, "Or well, costly for you to build."

"Don't you worry, I have something to solve… that thing I said. If we sign the papers, you'll have access to every lab of Quantum Core Industry and Hahne-Kedar."

Taylor came back down, dressed in a civilian wear consisting of an ugly holiday sweater and blue jeans. He joined Nelis and entered the kitchen as the kids went outside to play in the snow.

"Donn, good to you see!"

"Ah! Commodore Taylor," Both of them stood up from the table and he introduced Taylor to his guest, "Mr. Bishop, this is a friend of ours, Commodore Taylor of the Fourth Fleet."

Bishop extended his hand, "Commodore, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"The famous Bishop," He shook his hand, "To think I came this close to voting Firmist because of him."

" _This close_?" Bishop chuckled, "I clearly wasn't doing my job back then."

Donn thought on that, "You were a politician?"

Bishop chuckled, "Oh that? That was a long time ago. Politics is for the young. Ideas, they get tiresome."

"The Federation was a very dynamic place. But I prefer something stable," Taylor gestured for them all to sit down at the table, "So what are you doing here?"

"Mr. Bishop is interested in reviving my family's business from before the Morning War, Reegar Fleet Arms. Once the finest weapons from the Perseus Veil."

"An arms company?"

Bishop interjected, "Council records indicate they were a major company competing with the likes of the Asari and Turians. And with success, if I might add."

"That most certainly is different from farming."

Donn laughed, "But much more fun. With this, we can rebuild and contribute something to our new nation." He turned to Nelis, "And it's a much easier way to support a growing family."

"Still. A new weapons company seems expensive, Mr. Bishop."

"But that's the beauty of this," said Bishop, "There are records indicating RFA had nearly two hundred billion credits in cash in several banks across Council space."

"But no Reegar has been able to access it since we lost our home world. They claimed 'losses' due to the Geth uprising."

Taylor turned to him, "So that's why you're here?"

"I intend to get the funding for him. A quarter of everything I get back for them counts as my investment into RFA. And he'll have the full resource and technology department as a subsidy of Hahne-Kedar. I predict RFA weapons in the military by next year's end."

"How do you intend to do that? The Council races are very tight with their finances."

"As any civilized Terran would," He crossed his arms with confidence, "A strongly worded memo."

Taylor looked at Bishop, confused. "Just that?"

"One that has a Flagship Mag Cannon aimed right behind it." He pointed at the schematic on the table and smiled, "When your superiors see this, the military will rob banks for us just to get it!"

Donn chuckled and turned to Nelis, "They might get Uncle Zaren to do it for them as well."

* * *

At around the same time, the kids went outside. The wind had died down and as they stood there in the cold, they looked at the frozen ground, covered with a fresh thick layer of powder. Snow was as far as the eye could see. For the Quarians and other alien children, who lived most their lives on ships and who once grew up in the hot, polluted worlds of the Hegemony, it was a sight to behold.

Jacob ran out ahead of them, dressed in a more casual sweater, and jumped into the snow in front of Kal's house. He lay on the ground and waved his arms and legs in it. "A snow angel!"

The rest of them, consisting of Kal, Mil, Francisco, Burkal, and some other alien boys, simply walked up to Jacob and looked down at him. He stopped and sat up, confused.

"You know? You wave your arms and legs, and make an angel in the snow?"

He stood up and walked out. They all stood and looked at the imprint in the snow. Jacob waited, frustrated as they looked at it.

Francisco turned to Jacob. "That's what an angel looks like to you humans?"

Jacob turned to him and shrugged, "Well… yah. I guess."

"Uh… how about we build those men of snow?" asked Mil. "How does that work?"

Kal began laughing to himself, "Do you want to build a snow…?"

"Shut up, Kal!" yelled Mil. He grabbed some snow, formed it into the ball and threw it at him, "That's the last time I watch a movie with you."

"Hey!" Kal quickly made a snowball and threw it at Mil.

Jacob grabbed some snow and formed a ball, "That's fun, too! Snowball fight!"

The boys quickly formed up teams and took positions on either side of the lawn. It was divided between the shoveled path from the front door to the sidewalk. Mil gathered his scouts, while Kal and Jacob gathered the rest. Snowballs quickly filled the air as the boys threw frozen crystallized water at each other.

* * *

A few dozen meters away, on top of a short hill overlooking the road and Kal's house, there was a bare orange bulb tree, deprived of its leaves and signature orange bulb flowers for the winter. In a small hole dug into the snow, Head Scout Trish and her two lieutenants, Joni'Yemos and Tuvia Agalinus, peered down at them.

"There they are!"

"So?" asked Joni, freezing from the cold, "Why are we even here?"

"We are gonna crash their fun," she said with a smiling grin. "Tuvia, is the snowball ready?"

The Turian girl turned to her and handed her a rope. Tied to it was a rock that was holding a half-meter diameter snowball from rolling down the hill. "Ready, Trish. Pull this and it'll come down right on them."

"Please pull it so we can go back home, where its warm," said Joni as she continued to shiver.

"Your mom making cocoa?" asked Tuvia.

"I hope so," she sneezed on her face mask, "Ah man…"

Trish grabbed the rope and looked back down. She closed one eye and took aim. Down below, the boys were moving about across the front yard. After a moment of picking her target and waiting for the right moment, she timed her shot.

"Now!"

She pulled the rope and the rock and then the large snowball began to roll downhill. As it gathered speed and rolled down the snow-covered slope, it grew larger and larger in size. A few seconds later, it rolled through a thicket of bushes and disappeared.

Trish stood up over their trench and looked down.

"What the heck happened to the snow…?"

The snowball emerged from the bottom of the thicket, having become larger than before. It continued to gather in size and speed, nearly as large as a car when it hit the bottom and rolled right for the boys. The once soft sound of the snow gathering had turned into a monstrous sound of a rolling boulder.

"Uh… we should go and get that cocoa now," said Trish, shocked by the sight of the giant snowball.

"Shouldn't we at least-"

"No! Let's get out of here, now!"

Back down the hill, the boys all turned to around, noticing the massive snowball coming right for them.

"What the…?"

Jacob pointed at it and yelled out, "Giant snowball!"

They all jumped out of the way. In a second, there was a loud thump as the giant snowball crashed into something. They all got up and looked, seeing the giant snowball had seemingly stopped in the middle of Kal's front yard. Kal looked around, wanting to make sure they were all right.

"Everyone alive?"

"I'm good," replied Jacob as he dusted snow off his sweater.

Francisco and Burkal walked up to the giant snowball. They looked up at the pile of snow, its shadow hid them from the clouded sun.

"I wonder where Mil went," said Francisco.

Burkal chuckled, "He must have 'tactically retreated'."

From within the snowball, there was an angry murmuring but it was muffled by the snow.

"You hear that?" asked Burkal as he looked around, no one else seemed to hear it.

"You must be hearing things," Francisco took another look at the snowball. "How about we build something better than a snowman?"

He closed his four eyes for a moment to think of an idea. "Ah! I got yah!"

* * *

 **Across the Street**

"Father, please. No!"

"Come now, Tali. This is for your own good."

"No, please! I'll do anything. Don't make me do it! No!"

He opened the front door of their house and with a light push, he moved Tali outside. She was in her suit, covered with several thick coats for warmth and a thick purple scarf and hood. In her hand was Chiktikka, her hamster, inside her own light purple transparent ball. It had a tiny sweater and blue scarf around her neck.

"Now Tali, it's important you play outside. I mean, look at this. Snow! The only time I ever experienced that was when I visited Lattesh during a research mission. Now we have our own world full of it!"

She began shivering. Chiktikka just looked around her ball, not bothered by the cold as she had very thick fur.

"It's so cold. Father, please don't make me go outside!"

"Most Quarians never get to experience this. Now go play with your friends."

She looked across the street. The boys were all on Kal's lawn, playing in the snow. Most of them had resumed their snowball fight on the lawn. Francisco and Burkal were using the giant snowball and had begun building a snow Elcor. They finished decorating its face with some carrots for its mouths, and strapping a blanket on top of it for clothing. As they stood there and gazed at their work, Mil burst out of the snowelcor, gasping for breath before he collapsed on the ground.

"They're not my friends. They're prazzas!"

Real shook his head, "Now, now, Tali. You won't make friends that way. Now go and play. You can come back later."

"But, but… but Father."

He closed the door on her. She sighed, the idea of going outside into the cold was insane to her. And she was still shivering, despite the brand-new enviro suit and several layers of thick clothing. She turned around, facing the snowy frontier. Her hamster looked at her, squeaking in anticipation. She was far less willing.

"Ah, bosh'tet…. Okay. Here goes nothing!"

She took a deep breath and took a step off her porch and into the few centimeters of thick snow. She pressed down with her suit boot, feeling the coldness go through on her toes. Standing in the snow, feeling the frozen crystallized water, she looked down and thought about it. "This isn't bad. Huh, Chiktikka?"

"Squeak."

Tali took another step forward. Immediately, she fell into a large hole that the snow was masking. As she fell, she tossed Chiktikka and she landed on the snow near the edge as Tali fell a few meters deep into the snow filled hole.

Chiktikka got herself together and rolled towards the edge of the hole. Tali lay there at the bottom, groaning from the fall. She squeaked towards her, and Tali looked up in a daze.

"Keelah…" She got back up, standing a few meters short from the top. "Why the heck is there a hole here… oh right . . ." She crossed her arms in annoyance, "This is the hole I tricked Kal into digging for a science project. Damn. I should have told him to stop when it was clear he wasn't going to make it to the other side of the planet."

Chiktikka looked over the edge from inside her ball and called out, "Squeak!"

"What, Chiktikka?" She looked up at her hamster, "Chiktikka! Is that you, girl?"

"Squeak!"

She tried to access her watch, only to notice it was broken and covered with melted snow.

"Damn useless human garbage!" she sighed and looked up to the surface and her hamster. "Chiktikka, go get help, girl!"

Chiktikka squeaked in acknowledgment and turned around in her ball. She began running, first scratching the ball with her claws before finally gaining traction. The small purple plastic ball began shoving its way through the snow. Thus Chiktikka began her adventure to save Tali'Zorah.

* * *

 **A Few Hours Later**

"Send him to biotic training?" said Donn as he took another squeeze of a tube of paste.

"To a school. A special school for kinetics."

"I see. How Dad would have loved something like that when he was a kid."

It was now evening, and the New Haestrom day was coming to a close. The weather outside was frightful, but the warmth from the thorium furnace was delightful. Taylor and Donn sat in the kitchen, talking about what was new. A single light shone on top of them. Nelis, her hands resting on her stomach, was napping on the living room couch. Kal and Jacob were upstairs, playing his new game again.

"I, uh. I never expected to get this far in the Navy," he said as took a swig from a bottle of levo beer.

"Really now?"

"I'm an old man, Donn. I planned to do my service, a few years in the Navy, then retire and bring Rosalyn and Ronald to Eden. Raise a family."

"So," asked Donn, "What happened?"

"That was back in '42. Six years later, I was there on Amenthes Station over Mars when rebels tried bombing it. I then spent the next two years fighting all across our home world. God…" Taylor took another drink, "We lost so many in such a short time…"

"That must have been hard."

"Yah…" He turned and smiled, "But enough about that. I can't complain about the war on Earth when you don't even have Rannoch."

"Now, now. As much as I long for the home world, this Revival must have been devastating for Humanity. The Morning War was three hundred years ago. This was recent history?"

"Yah, well. That game Kal has can teach him about the human condition. We weren't fighting our AIs or anything like that. It was a civil war. And when the time came, the choice was drop kinetic rods or nuclear bombs. The missiles in their silos were meant to kill every last man, woman, and child on Earth. The Rapture Defense Satellites, they were meant to protect us…"

"From the outside, right? Humanity's first use of mass accelerators, and you built something that could scare the Council, not counting everything else you have."

"It protected us, but from ourselves."

The front door opened up, first a little, and then wide open as the wind blew it and bashed it against the wall. The wind rattled the portraits of the Terran leaders above the door, and Junius woke up and began flapping his wings but Nelis simply slept through the cold breeze. From the cold outside, Bishop walked in with a six-pack of bottled beer in each hand. He walked in and closed the door, shivering a bit before he headed towards the kitchen.

"I got the beer!"

He sat down with them and placed the beers on the table, one pack levo and one dexro, as he took of his jacket and hung it on the chair behind him.

"So you're staying with us for the holidays?" asked Taylor.

Bishop grinned, "Yes I am. The only hotel in a whole light year is booked. And it's technically government owned, so I can't simply buy my way into a room." He took a bottle and popped the cap off with the opener on his watch. "And Patterson took my ship!"

"Any news on this deal between you and Donn?"

Bishop took a drink and gestured to Donn, telling him to tell Taylor how negotiations were going. Donn grabbed a bottle and popped the cap off with the one built into the fridge next to him, then placed a sterilized induction port in it for him to drink.

"It's going well. He even agreed to finance Nelis' restaurant idea."

"I tried her Turian omelet this morning. Made from a Turian Corivel egg!"

Donn chuckled, "It takes a master to cook that. Their eggs normally taste horrible. Not even Krogan dare to eat them. Rather risk eating a thresher maw egg."

"But she made them taste as delicious as balut!"

They all got a drink and continued for a while. They chatted lightly about a variety of topics before Bishop brought it back to Taylor and Jacob.

"So he's your grandson?"

"Yes he is," he said with pride. "A fine Terran kinetic."

"Amazing. Born on Earth?"

"Yes."

Donn turned to them, "Is that important?"

Taylor filled him in, "After we used the sats, they exploded and scattered massatanium across the planet. Far more died from the exposure and the poor response by the government was worse than the war itself. In spite of the clean up, Earth is still where most of our kinetics are born."

Bishop held his beer up, "It's good that the next stage of Humanity is coming from Earth." He then chugged down the rest of his bottle, "That stupid planet is still good for something."

"You don't like Earth?"

Taylor answered, "We have a saying, _From Earth to Terra_."

Bishop added on, "That used to be metaphorical. Earth is Terra, and we once chased the idea. Now, it's quite literal. Those words now couldn't be more different than yes and no. We lost that... spirit that made our world home. Yet, it's meaning is clear. From home… to home."

They all then sat there, drinking in silence, as they thought about that. Everyday, Donn learned more about the humans and the complex history that led to who they are today. For the other two, they just tried not to think about it. The problems of the past defined them, but the ones today are the ones they must deal with first.

"How has retirement been?"

"I admit. Living a Terran lifestyle can be lazing." He drank through his port, "Why do you ask, Commodore?"

Taylor finished his drink and sat back, thinking, "I was thinking of retiring. Just drop from the stars and make a home planetside."

"Tired of the stars?" asked Bishop.

"Oh, no. Not that…" He grabbed another bottle and opened it up, "But Jacob is all I have. And career and family rarely work together."

"I, uh, I can sympathize," Bishop chugged down his own drink, "I hope you find your answer…"

* * *

"Another operation?" asked Kal.

"Let me try this one," said Jacob. He sat down on the ground and looked at the TV as Kal sat on his bed.

Once sharing a small crowded room with several other children of his age back on the _Rayya_ , in a room half the size, he was enjoying the privilege and privacy of his own bedroom. It had a foam matters bed with sheets of the new local football team, the Real Rayya. Across from it on the wall was a cheap flat screen TV. Along the wall were posters, including a recruitment poster for the Terran Marines and one of the Terran superhero Superman. On his dresser was a lamp and an action figure of his grandfather, Faunz'Reegar, from the new TV show, _The Adventures of Miri and Zaren_.

The screen played the historic significance of the next operation, the narrator speaking in her calm rational voice,

" _As the war spread throughout the world, it saw fierce action when the USNA fell apart. Terran forces regrouped, forming the only true 'safe zone' in the US west coast. As forces in the east kept rebels pinned down, the Terran First Army, spearheaded by the 1st Division, the famed Big Red One, marched south for California to relieve a militia army holding Mexico City, deep in rebel territory. Led by the famed fighter pilot, Commander Helen Valenzuela, her massive air battle campaign would be the deciding factor in not only gaining air supremacy over Mexico, but across much of the 'New World'…"_

"Awesome. I heard they really nailed the air battles in this game."

The game began and Jacob assumed control of a Terran fighter. Another female voice, similar to Admiral Valenzuela's, began speaking as several fighter groups formed up,

" _Aviators of the Terran Navy! Our goal is clear. Above my homeland, we shall open the way for the liberation of Mexico City. The Militia holds, but they will fall if we fail. First, we must take down the defense of this old American Strato-fortress, allowing our Marines to land and gain control of Airway 110. Next, we must destroy the rocket artillery defending the Cerro El Zamorano hill from an Army encroachment. Afterwards, we must aid the Army in a full assault on Santiago. Our victory here shall crush this rebellion!"_

"So, Jacob. Why did you come here for winter break?" asked Kal.

"Grandpa wanted us to stay somewhere for the holidays. Be with friends and all that."

"Can a commodore simply call shore leave on short notice?"

Jacob chuckled as he gained control of a Terran fighter and the match began, "I believe that the _Homestead_ is officially undergoing maintenance for the break. So we're _stuck_ here like that rich guy… If I ask him, do you think he would give me a copy of this game?"

Kal watched as Jacob took control and began playing.

"Maybe… Hey, Jacob?"

"Yah?" he asked as he tried to dodge a missile.

"How does Terran school work?"

"Oh, yah. I forgot they haven't finished the school on New Haestrom yet. When does it start?"

"In January. They're finishing up the new elementary school in the city."

"Well. It's similar to what we do on starships." He moved his remote along with his control movement, trying to dogfight with a rebel in the game, "And you saw what we do last June."

Kal chuckled, "So it's easy? You were doing basic math while I have calculus and linear algebra under my suitbelt."

"What the hell is calculus?"

Kal dropped his head into his hands, "Seriously? How is your race even spacefaring?"

"Beats me, we bashed rocks together until it underwent fusion…" he said as he stared intensely at the TV. His fighter re-spawned and he rejoined the fight. He locked in on another fighter, the troop count from his side depleting steadily. As the offensive force, his side had to win without losing a certain number of troops, or else the attack would have failed.

"But Jacob. What's your plan? Are you just going to stay with your grandpa the whole time?"

"Why not?" There was a hint of defensiveness in Jacob's voice, "I mean, I like being with Grandpa. Mom and Dad have things to do, so I might as well stay with him rather than be alone on Earth. I want to stay with him."

"Explore the stars and all?"

"It's cool. Being away from civilization, all the rules and expectations, and exploring the depths of the galaxy. I mean you did that all your life, Kal."

He raised an eyebrow inside his helmet, "We were on the run from the Geth! And we were considered outlaws by the Council when we opened an unused relay and found you. If you ask me, I prefer being in civilization."

"We are so spoiling you, Kal."

"Oh please…" He continued watching him, kicking his feet against his bed as Jacob played, "How're your biotics doing?"

"Shut up Kal, I can't…" His fighter was shot down again. As he waited to re-spawn, a few more from his side were lost, depleting the reinforcement number to zero. In that moment, the match was lost, frustrating Jacob a great deal. "Damn it!" He threw he remote against the ground.

"Calm down!" said Kal as he got off his bed, "Don't worry. I looked it up, and this operation is so broken. Favors the defense team."

"It's not that…" He curled up a bit and looked away.

Kal was confused, and he turned to his friend to figure out why, "Jacob. What's wrong?"

* * *

A doorbell rang out downstairs. Both of them turned to the bedroom door for a moment, wondering who it was. They got up and headed out, heading down the stairs. Around the corner, Donn walked out from the kitchen.

"It must be Lilac!"

He opened the door. The cold wind bashed the door wide open. Donn looked out, seeing no one in front of the house. There was nothing but the cold night and the blizzard moving snow across the frontier. Puzzled, he began to try and close the door again, when a sound rang out.

"Squeak!"

Donn looked down, seeing a plastic purple ball in the snow on his porch. "Huh… what?"

"Squeak!"

Donn kept looking at the hamster. Then a thought crossed his mind. "How… how did you reach the doorbell?"

"Squeak, squeak… squeak," Chiktikka explained.

Junius awoke again, stretching his wings as he turned his head to look around and find where the sound was coming from. He spotted Chiktikka at the front door and proceeded to fly over.

"Hoot," said Junius in his plain tone as he stared at the hamster.

"Squeak," said Chiktikka, staring up at the owl.

On the stairs, Kal and Jacob stared at the unusual conversation between the two pets.

"What do you think they're saying?" asked Kal.

"It's an owl and a bubble rat, Kal!" replied Jacob, "What could they be possibly be talking about?"

Suddenly, Junius pecked at Chiktikka's ball. Chiktikka was pushed back, but she got up and rolled back into position, enraged. She jumped forward, hurling herself and her ball into the air, and tackled Junius in the head with the plastic ball. Junius hit the floor, dazed.

"Hoot," he said, dizzy.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!" said Chiktikka, trying to apparently reason with Junius.

Lying on the ground, Junius lifted his head and turned to the hamster.

"Hoot?"

"Squeak. Squeak," she said in some form of acknowledgement. "Squeak?"

Junius got back up and nodded to Chiktikka. "Hoot."

Junius began clapping his wings and hovered in the air. It grabbed Chiktikka's ball and then flew straight into the cold blizzard. Quickly they disappeared in the snowy haze.

"Uh… What?"

"Your owl just flew into a freezing blizzard!" Jacob turned to Kal and patted his back, "Kal… you're going to need a new owl…"

"I think I drank too much," Donn turned to close the door. As he closed it, someone pushed back against the door. Donn opened it again, a little Quarian girl stood there, staring at him. Donn looked over and the girl in pink rushed in from the porch and hugged him.

"Uncle Donn!"

Donn knelt down and hugged her, "Jazlin! How good to see you." He looked over her shoulder and saw his cousin Lilac walking through the snow, pushing his aunt's wheelchair. "Go help your mother and grandmother."

"Okay, Uncle."

He stood back up and walked over to Nelis as Jazlin ran back out to help them bring their luggage. He woke her up as Kal and Jacob walked downstairs. As they stepped down, Kal's aunt Lilac and great-aunt Jazlin came through the door and immediately spotted Kal.

"Kal! How are you, son?" asked Lilac.

Dreading his relatives, he responded with feigned enthusiasm, "Hi Auntie Lilac. Hi Aunt Jazlin."

"Give your auntie a hug, Kal," said the elder Jazlin as she held her hands out to him. Kal walked over slowly and she grabbed him before huggin him as she sat in her chair. She held onto him and squeezed tightly, swinging Kal a bit. Jacob chuckled to himself at the sight.

"Oh Kal. You remind me of your grandfather Faunz when he was a kid."

"Really?"

She giggled behind her mask, rubbing Kal's head band, "Strong, and handsome. You even have the same red and gold colored suit."

The younger Jazlin walked in, dragging to large suitcases on the ground, leaving a trail of dirty snow behind her. She dropped them on the floor and turned to her cousin. "Yah, the same girly red and gold!"

Kal moaned, his mouthpiece flashed one continuous light for nearly thirty whole seconds. He finally stopped, "Hi Jazlin."

"Hey Kal…" She turned her eyes away and noticed Jacob. She dropped the suitcases in sudden shock and began giggling excitedly. She quickly walked over to him, holding her hands together behind her back, as she shyly looked away from him, "Hi Jacob."

Jacob turned to her, calmly surprised, "Oh, Jazlin. You're Kal's cousin?"

Kal moaned, "Unfortunately."

She giggled, "When I heard you say his name, I just knew I would see you here." Jazlin took a step closer to him and rubbed her shoulders with him, looking up at Jacob with her pink facemask, "I, uh, never got to really thank you for saving me."

Kal turned to him, "You saved her? From what."

"These racist bullies. But Jacob was so heroic!" She kept looking up at him as she pushed in. Jacob slowly backed away from her all the while. "He took them down so bravely."

Jacob nervously responded, not wanting to think about it. He slipped away for her, and waved his hand, "Uh, yah, Jazlin. It's no big deal."

"Oh but you were so awesome when you used your biotics and lashed out. You threw the entire class into the wall!"

"Really?" asked Kal.

She continued describing it to Kal, becoming excited, "Yah, and then he tackled the bully and beat his face in with biotic force! Like how Grandma described Uncle Faunz when he was young!"

Kal chuckled and turned back Jacob, "Wow, Jacob. I knew you were a fighter, but to be like my grandpa? That's a damn fine compliment from us Reegars."

Jacob rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed and secretly agitated she was bringing it up. The mention of his kinetics was proving to be a sensitive subject. He quickly tried again to dismiss the entire conversation. "That's, uh, great. Why don't we just, uh, help them upstairs…"

Jazlin interrupted, continuing to praise him, "You know, Kal. His biotics are something special."

Among Quarians, a biotic individual was very rare, even before the Morning War. Quarian reproduction had many safeguards to protect the fetus from exposure, and the short gestation time made full element zero integration unlikely. Though being biotic was quite a special characteristic, it wasn't something Jacob was happy about, especially these past few days.

"Did you know he'll get to go to a special school and get training from across the Federation? Maybe even train with the Asari!"

Jacob became more defensive and clear, "Please, stop."

"Wow, training with the Asari."

"Commandos! Huntresses! He could be a biotic warrior by the time he grows up." Jazlin walked back up and grabbed his arm, resting her helmet on it, "He'll be my biotic warrior."

"No!" He pushed Jazlin off, now upset, "I don't want to be some warrior, commando, or biotic whatever!" He drew the attention of everyone in the room as he backed away and approached the stairs, "I don't want to be some kinetic freak! I want to be normal!"

He ran off and up the stairs. Taylor rushed out of the kitchen upon hearing the commotion.

"What was going on?"

Nelis replied, "Jacob seemed to be distressed."

"Oh no," He ran upstairs as well, "Jacob!"

* * *

Through the snowy blizzard, Admiral Marcus Junius, the owl, continued his flight. He battled through the wind, carrying Chiktikka in his talons. The snow blew with force, hitting his rocky feathered face, but he kept flying, flapping his wings with all his might. Chiktikka huddled up in her ball watching the view as they flew over the snow trail she had spent hours rolling through; the path had since been covered by snow.

Finally, after a dozen or so minutes, they made it across the street. Fortunately, the wind died down and Junius approached the hole. She was still in there, almost ten feet down; by chance the winds had been blowing horizontally so at least she had not been buried.

Junius dropped Chiktikka at the edge of the hole and the two pets looked down. Freezing in the cold, and having been forced to short circuit her watch and set it on fire to stay warm, Tali looked up. She was overjoyed, thought she was too frozen to properly express it.

"Ch-ch-ch Chiktikka!"

"Squeak!" She turned to Junius, "Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

Junius nodded, "Hoot."

He walked over to the edge and looked down at Tali. She looked up at the owl.

"A-a-a-an owl?"

"Hoot."

Junius dove into the hole. Chiktikk watched as a struggle of sorts broke out before Junius could help her. Tali kept resisting. But then Junius got ahold of her shoulders with his talons. He began flapping his wings full force, slowly rising up from the hole. Junius' eyes were wide, struggling with all his might to carry Tali.

"Hoot!"

Then Chiktikka saw Junius emerge from the hole with Tali in his talons. He kept flapping and hovered over solid ground, then crashed face first into the snow, as Tali dropped a quarter meter to the ground. Chiktikka rolled up to her, and Tali immediately grabbed the ball.

"Oh Chiktikka!" She rubbed her facemask on the plastic ball and Chiktikka rubbed her furry hamster face on the same spot, "You saved my life!"

"Squeak!"

She placed her in her lap and turned to Junius. "You're Kal's owl, right? Thank you so much."

Junius rolled over, breathing heavily as he spread his wings on the snow, exhausted. "Hoot."

She stood up and picked up Chiktikka. As she walked back to her door, it opened, Rael'Zorah at the door, none the wiser.

"Tali. Come on, dinner is ready-"

She pushed him aside as she marched in and rushed for her room. "Dang it, Father! I almost died 'playing' outside!"

He looked on as she marched upstairs, still shivering from the cold. He turned back outside, and noticed Junius the owl. He was standing there; his head was tilted as he stared at him.

"What the…"

Junius then charged, flying into his facemask and began attacking.

"Ahhh!"

* * *

 **\/\/\/\/\/ A/N \/\/\/\/\/**

Thank you all for reading! I hope you all enjoyed!  
Please feel free to review and comment. I would appreciate it very much!  
I'll be aiming for the next release before Christmas, as a way to keep up with the theme.

And of course,  
My special thanks to MoonSword1994!  
Thank you for all your beta-reading work,  
I couldn't have done it without you!

 **/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\**

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Posted on October 1, 2017 - Beta-read by MoonSword1994


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